Percy Jackson and the Ghost King
by Shirosenshi Kisetsu 116
Summary: Eight peaceful years have passed at camp Half-Blood. Percy thought he was done with the quest thing, but Hades has other plans. Nico's soul has been scattered and he wants Percy to go and pick up the pieces. If only Nico's ghost would stop following him and making things difficult. Oh well, the Gods did promise that his love life would be interesting. Nicercy Rated M for later..
1. Water is Silence

I have no idea where this came from. I regret nothing.

Expect OoC-ness. This is like eight years in the future. The characters are bound to have changed in some ways.

_Italics _= Thinking

**Bold **= Nico

* * *

The water was deafening.

The water was silence.

Percy opened his sea-green eyes and stared toward the surface. He was in shallow water, it was only 8 feet deep, and so it wasn't too dark. Streams of light from the afternoon sun made their way under the surface; making the water that it touched warm.

For a Son of Poseidon, being underwater was as natural as breathing. And Percy took full advantage of that. Being under the sea's steady pressure was the only thing that could help him _think. _And that was something he didn't really get a chance to do these days.

How could he think with all the responsibilities that he had gained over the years? He watched over the camp, training the new Demi-Gods, and keeping the bond between Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-Blood strong. It was a lot to handle, but he wouldn't have any other way, he had been doing it for so long now it came as easily to him as breathing underwater did.

After the war against Titans and the War against Gaea, things had settled down quite a bit. The camps continued to co-exist and Demi-Gods were still given quests to keep the monster population in check. And before he knew it, Annabeth was leaving to go live in Camp Jupiter so she could go to college and Percy was left alone to his own devices.

At first they talked often while they were apart, and then when Percy's duties kept him away, and Annabeth's classes became more demanding, they eventually decided to call it off. They were still friends, and they talked every now and then. But it wasn't the same as before.

Percy did miss Annabeth. They had made it through Tartarus together, something like that isn't just forgotten about easily, but they were at different parts of their lives, and instead of dragging it out, they ended it so they could both move on.

He thought he would be upset, but truthfully, looking back, she _was _his first love, but they were children. They were bound to find different paths to follow.

Percy did try to date again, but it never really worked out. He was always so busy that he would end up ignoring whoever he was dating at the time. Or even, embarrassingly enough, forgetting and or being late for dates.

And now, at age 25, Percy was sure his love life was not something that was meant to be.

And here the Gods promised to make his love life interesting.

Someone approached the edge of the water. Percy could sense the blood flowing through the person's body.

Yeah. That was something new that had developed over the years.

At one point he had been scared at how much his powers were growing, but now he just went with it. If a new ability showed up, he trained, controlled and harnessed it.

He sighed (could you even do that underwater?) and kicked off the bottom of the ocean floor, making it to the surface in record time.

Jason was standing on the shore. His hands were stuffed in the pockets of his gray sweater, which meant it was probably cold.

The water temperature didn't affect Percy, even in fall. But his friends still thought he was crazy for swimming at this time of year anyway.

He swam to shore; as soon as he was standing on the sand he willed the water off him, leaving his jeans and orange camp t shirt completely dry.

"Hey, man." Jason ran up to him and clapped him on his shoulder, "you've been in there for three hours now. Is everything okay?"

Percy looked up at the sun, and sure enough, it was starting to dip below the horizon.

"Everything's fine," he said. "I was just thinking." He started back toward camp, Jason following silently behind him.

There was a time where someone would laugh and make a quip about him thinking too hard. But after being the leader of the camp for almost eight years, people finally came to understand he wasn't as stupid as he looked.

"So why did you come to get me? There's nothing wrong back at camp, is there?" Percy asked him.

"No, nothing's wrong. Piper was just concerned that you missed supper again. She's always worried about you these days. Should I be jealous?"

Percy laughed and pushed him gently. Ever since Jason had made himself a permanent resident at Camp Half blood, he and Percy had become best friends. Jason was his second in command, and a sturdy pillar to lean on.

Piper had become like an advisor to him after Annabeth left, and (not that he would like to admit) but she was there emotionally after his break up with the daughter of Athena.

And Leo… He shook his head at the thought. Leo was someone he could always go to if he needed to be cheered up. The guy was always a ball of energy, and his girlfriend, Calypso was no better.

He did miss Hazel and Frank. They were still at camp Jupiter, and from what he heard, they were doing just fine. He missed the awkward couple, but he still kept in touch with them as much as possible.

He resisted the urge to run his fingers along his S.P.Q.R tattoo. It burned every time he thought of Camp Jupiter, like it was trying to call him back there.

There was one person he hadn't seen in forever, and that was the one and only elusive Nico di Angelo.

After the war with Gaea was over, Nico stuck around long enough to make sure the camp was stable, before telling Percy his 'secret', and disappearing like the shadows he traveled in.

His secret, which Percy had caught onto long before poor Nico worked up the courage to tell him, was the fact that he was gay. Percy knew that, but what he didn't know was that the fourteen year old boy had a crush on him.

That surprised him, and if anything, it made him sad. He felt bad that Nico had obviously been beating himself up over his feelings, and Percy had gone on without noticing it. It must have been painful to hold something like that in.

And then when Nico had gone and finally confessed his feelings, Percy did the dumbest thing he could have done.

He went speechless. His mouth wasn't able to form any words to reply. It wasn't out of disgust, but more out of surprise.

But Nico took it in the worst way possible, and he disappeared from the surface world.

Percy had no doubt that the son of Hade's was down in the underworld somewhere, brooding.

Not even Hazel had seen him.

At least that's what she told Percy.

More than anything he wanted to make up with Nico. They had been friends once, and even with all the betrayals and the heartache, he enjoyed his company.

But if Nico wanted to hide away in the underworld, there was no way Percy could go after him. Not only was it impossible, he had no desire to beget the wrath of Hade's.

"Percy. Hello…?"

Percy jumped as Jason poked his ribs. "Sorry," he said, trying to get his bearings. "I was lost in thought again." He was surprised to see that they were already standing in front of his cabin. He couldn't even remember walking across the camp.

"Thinking about _Nico _again?" Jason asked in a sly tone.

Percy frowned at him. "What's it to you, Grace?"

Jason smiled at him, trying to act cute. "Oh nothing, I just wondering. You see, you get this dreamy look in your eyes every time you think about him…"

Jason was lucky he had learned to teleport (how cool was that?) because Percy would have punched him if he hadn't move out of the way.

The smiling fool waved at him from thirty feet away and yelled, "don't deny your feelings, we all know you have a big ol' crush on Nico!" With his point made, he skipped off before Percy could chase after him and beat the crap out of him.

Percy grumbled and opened the door to his cabin. He didn't even bother taking off his clothes as he collapsed on the bed and closed his eyes.

He resented the fact that Jason thought he had a crush on Nico. The last time he had seen the guy was eight years ago, he'd probably changed just as much as Percy had.

And it wasn't even a crush!

Sure he thought about Nico a lot.

And wondered where he was.

And what he looked like now.

Gah!

He rolled over and buried his face into his pillow. He was twenty five years old. And he liked girls. Well okay, maybe his Greek genes made him open to looking at other guys, but that wasn't really his fault.

With those last comforting thoughts, he allowed himself to drift off.

And he was immediately tugged into a dream.

He was sitting on his bed, in his cabin, and for some reason the lights were all off. But even in the darkness he could make out the shadowed figure of Hade's leaning against the wall opposite to him.

The God of the underworld looked almost like the corpses he ruled over. His black hair was brushed back and was shoulder length; it stood out against his skin that was so white it resembled something that looked more like alabaster stone rather than living flesh. His black robes billowed out around him like silk, the tortured faces of evil souls starred at Percy like they were accusing him of something. But the worst thing was Hade's eyes, they were as black as the Stygian armor Percy had often seen him wear, and there was a dangerous glint in his eyes. You weren't sure if you were looking in the eyes of a genius or a madman.

"Great, this looks like the start to every nightmare I've ever had."

The trickling of his fountain was the only sound between them for a few seconds, before Hade's spoke.

"I need you to do something for me." Hade's voice held no indication that Percy would be given a choice in the matter.

Percy scoffed at him, "and what makes you think I'd do anything for you?"

Hades face contorted in anger, but he managed to keep his temper at bay. "I've become aware of your…" His expression changed, and if Percy didn't know any better, he's say the God looked… uncomfortable?

"—your _feelings _for my son."

Percy didn't have anything to say now. He sat there silently; waiting for Hade's to continue. He tried not to look too embarrassed, even though all he wanted to do was smother himself in his pillow.

"My son, Nico, he's become disagreeable of late." Hade's expression changed back to anger, the souls on his robes mirroring his own. "He's went back into Tartarus and never returned, and unfortunately his mortal body died."

"Died—?!"

Hade's held up a hand, cutting him off. "Compose yourself, Demi-God. I haven't finished."

Percy said nothing, but he did curl his fists, his nails digging into his palms.

"As you know, we as parents are not allowed to directly interfere with our children's lives. And so instead of getting my brother all in a tizzy, I've decided to enlist your help." Those last few words appeared to hurt the God.

"But what can I do?" Percy asked him. "I can't bring back the dead, and besides, I'm the leader of this camp, I can't just leave."

"So you're willing to leave Nico's soul to wander about Tartarus for eternity?"

Percy didn't need to think about it. He had been in Tartarus, he had seen how horrible it was, how lost and desperate you could become. "No," he said quietly. He opened his hand and stared down at the blood gathered on his palms. "No, I would never leave anyone to that fate," he looked up and met Hade's eyes. "What do I have to do?"

Now the look in the God's eyes was definitely that of a mad man. "I need you to take a quest for me. That way no one here will question it."

"You still haven't old me what this quest will involve." Percy said curtly. He hated when the Gods toyed with him like this.

Hade's smiled then, and Percy wasn't sure if he hated his smile or his glare more.

"I've split Nico's soul into five pieces. I thought that would be appropriate. Five pieces of his soul to represent the five stages of grief after someone dies." Hade's seemed so proud of himself.

"Each piece of his souls will be located in different parts of the place you now call Europe. The monster population is much higher over there. I had to make it a challenge for you."

Percy rolled his eyes; he was already starting to regret helping him.

"Guarding each piece of Nico's soul will be a monster of legend. You defeat the monster and that part of Nico's soul will go into this," he held up a familiar blade, it was Nico's Stygian black sword. "When you collect all five pieces, return to me in the underworld where I will be keeping watch over his body. I will return his soul to his flesh then, leaving no room for Dear Zeus to complain."

The weight of what he had to do hit him after he sat there in silence for a few minutes, and Percy couldn't tell if he was terrified, or more excited than he'd been in a really long time.

"If you do this, Percy Jackson, I _may _consider taking your feelings for my son into account." Hade's was frowning again, and yes, Percy liked it more than the smile.

"Not that I'm too concerned. Nico overcame his feelings for you a long time ago, and he's changed much since you were children. I doubt once you see him again you'll feel anything for him at all."

Percy was about to come back with a rude retort, but Hade's cut him off.

"It's seems our time is up. You have one month to collect the pieces of Nico's soul and return them to me."

"You didn't say anything about a time limit!"

But Hade's only answer was an infuriatingly smug smile.

When Percy opened his eyes, the sun was shining in them, almost blinding him. He didn't even bother moving, he was still dazed from the dream.

"_If it even was a dream…"_

After laying there and feeling miserable (which tend to happen when a god keeps you up for what feels like half the night) he finally summoned up the will power to get up.

It was a chore to detangle himself from the blankets. His foot was completely stuck, and it took a good pull to get it free. Unfortunately in his enthusiasm he ended up flipping himself right over backwards, almost landing on a black sword that hadn't been lying on his floor the night before.

He groaned and pushed the sword away from him, being careful not to cut his hand on the razor sharp blade.

"_So it wasn't a dream."_

He was going on a quest to find Nico. It would probably be a very dangerous quest that would (most likely) kill him.

It must be Wednesday.

By the time he finally managed to pick himself off the floor and get a shower, it was already past lunch. Piper would no doubt be freaking over the fact that he missed two meals that day.

He didn't have time for the last meal of the day either. He still had to pack and inform Chiron that he was leaving, and he had to set Jason up as the leader for the time he would be gone.

He pulled on his jeans and his orange camp t shirt. He could feel the moisture in the air, threatening to snow, so he put on a blue jacket as well.

Nico's sword was still on the floor. He wasn't sure how he was going to carry it around; it didn't have the same magic as Riptide. There was no way it was fitting in his pocket.

He picked it up anyway and held it close for inspection. Other than feeling unbalanced in his hand, it wasn't a bad looking sword.

"**By the Gods."**

Percy damn near jumped out of his skin.

He spun around, looking for whoever spoke. There was no way anyone could have snuck in while he was in the shower, Percy would have been able to sense them.

This person was not alive though.

He was see-through, his coloring dulled by the blue walls visible behind him. But Percy could make out his black and wavy shoulder length hair and his black eyes. His outfit hadn't changed much: black skinny jeans and a skull t-shirt, and a skull ring on his finger. The only big difference was the missing aviator jacket, which had been replaced by a sleek black leather jacket.

"**Out of all the people to get a hold of my sword, it had to be you."**

The ghost of Nico di Angelo looked more like his father than ever as he gave Percy a look of distaste.

"**I think I would have rather been awakened by a monster."**

"Nico…?"

Percy wanted to kick himself for sounding so stunned.

Nico smiled at him as he pushed off the floor to hover around him in circles. **"That's me. Here in the… Ectoplasm…"**

Finally regaining his senses, Percy stepped forward and stuck his hand through Nico's chest. His eyes widened in amazement when his hand turned ice cold. "How are you here? Isn't your soul…" He drew his hand back and waved his arms around. "Scattered or something?"

Nico gave him a weird look, and Percy felt like he was missing something important.

"**I'm the Ghost King, did you forget or something? Scattered soul or not, I can still turn myself into a spirit."**

Nico drifted around Percy in a slow circle. He loved how uncomfortable the Demi-God looked. **"How did you get my sword anyway? I intended for it to stay down in Tartarus."**

"Your father brought it back for me," Percy tried not to sound too rude. "He's sending me on a quest to bring back your soul and revive you."

Nico frowned and said nothing.

There were a million things he wanted to ask the ghost, but Percy once again found himself tongue tied. He wanted to know why he left, and why he refused to take any of his Iris calls.

He wanted to know how he still felt about him.

Percy didn't care if Nico didn't have a crush on him anymore, but he wanted to know if it was possible to rebuild their friendship.

Nico never gave him a chance to reply to him all those years ago. Now maybe he would get the chance to talk to him.

"How long are you going to be here?" Percy asked him as he maneuvered around the ghost until he could get to his bed. He put the sword down and started packing his things so he could keep his hands busy while they talked.

"**Well my spirit is tied to my sword, so as long as I'm dead I guess. I wasn't really thinking when I tied myself to it."**

"_You weren't thinking at all if you went to Tartarus by yourself. What did you think would happen?"_

But he didn't say this out loud. Instead he finished packing his things and then made his bed.

He ignored Nico's remark about his sloppy bed making skills.

Percy strapped the sword onto his bag and then slung it over his shoulder; he almost walked right through Nico's ghost who was standing directly behind him.

"Dude, personal space."

Nico laughed and Percy's heart almost stopped. In all his years of knowing the Ghost King, he had never heard him laugh. He wasn't expecting it.

Nico seemed to notice the look Percy was giving him, and his mirth quickly vanished. **"Whatever. Hurry up and go find my soul or whatever. I'm already bored. The afterlife sucks."**

"Don't hurt yourself saying 'thank you'." Percy muttered under his breath. Hades was right, Nico had changed. He was more bitter and ungrateful than before.

He flicked the light switch off and opened his door, almost running right into Jason who was standing on the other side.

"Jay! What's up?" He looked over his shoulder at Nico's ghost who was still floating around behind him. He had no idea how to explain this to the blond boy.

Jason didn't wasn't able to see Nico's ghost though, even when the Italian floated right through him.

Percy did however; notice the slight shiver that overtook Jason when the ghost made contact with him.

"Nothing much, everyone was just wondering if you were going to come eat at some point today." Jason stepped back and allowed Percy to walk out of his cabin and lock the door.

"And by everyone, you mean Piper?" Percy turned and both the boys smiled at each other.

"**You two are so lame." **Nico said as he continued to hover around them.

Percy chose to ignore him.

It was then that Jason noticed Percy's packed bag, and a certain stygian blade strapped to the back. "Is that Nico's sword?"

Percy tried not to look too guilty as he shielded the sword from Jason's view. "Yeah, it is. I got it from Hades."

When Jason continued to stare at him confused, Percy quickly explained to him the dream and the quest that the God of Death had given him. He didn't mention the fact that Nico was currently floating behind Jason, which would probably overwhelm the situation.

"So basically," Jason said as he and Percy started walking in the direction of the big house. "You're saying that your first quest in like eight years is going to take you all the way to the most dangerous part of the world for Demi-Gods. And you're somehow going to survive even though you're horribly out of practice."

"Hey, I've been training every day with the campers!" Percy said angrily.

"Yeah, you train against Demi-God_ children._" Jason said. "It's been a long time since you've been out on your own."

"**Is he like- your boyfriend or something?" **Nico sounded amused.

Percy tried not to pay attention to him. "I know, but I can't really tell Hades to go fuck himself."

"Well…" Jason trailed off, not able to make an argument for that.

They walked past a couple of campers that were practicing their sword fighting. The two men were quiet, but Percy could tell Jason was upset.

"You know, Percy."

Percy looked at the son of Zeus out of the corner of his eye.

"There's no guaranteed this quest will fix things between you and Nico. Even if you _do _manage to bring him back, he might not be the same person…"

"Tell me about it." Percy looked at Nico's ghost, who was following them closely, he appeared deep in thought.

Jason stopped them and placed a hand on Percy's shoulder, "I won't try to stop you. I know how you are when it comes to your loyalty with your friends. So don't worry about the camp, I'll keep everything together while you're gone. It will be one less thing for you to worry about."

Percy let out a sigh of relief. He could always count on Jason.

"**He's a good friend."**

Percy met Nico's eyes, and he saw that the ghost was being sincere.

"**He accepted me for who I was, and even helped me to come to terms with my feelings. I missed his friendship the most when I left the camp."**

The green-eyed man couldn't agree more.

Jason's hand gripped his shoulder and he shook Percy slightly. "And maybe if you're lucky, you'll finally be able to talk to Nico about your little cr—erk!"

Percy slapped a hand over his mouth, his face turning red. "Stop being so loud!"

Nico narrowed his eyes at the two of them, but he didn't say anything.

There was no way he was going to make it through the next month alive.

Welcome to the life of Percy Jackson.

* * *

So there is the first chapter. I've been away from fanfiction so long, I have no idea if it's any good.

I'm not sure when I'll be able to update, but I'm hoping it won't take long!


	2. Breath

Hello again. I'm glad you all enjoyed the first chapter!

* * *

After Jason and Percy said their goodbyes, Percy made his way to the big house so he could tell Chiron what was happening.

The old Centaur didn't look impressed, and he tried to fight Percy when he said he was going alone. But Percy stood firm, besides, he would have Black Jack with him.

And Nico, but no one needed to know that.

With that out of the way, Percy went to the Pegasus stables next. Black Jack was excited to be going on a journey, even if they would be going to one of the most dangerous places in the world. But Percy wasn't planning on keeping him there with him; he would send Black Jack back to camp once he got to Europe or wherever he was going.

No one else came to say goodbye, and he preferred it that way. Jason probably hadn't gotten around to telling everyone. They would have no doubt tried to join him, or worse, tried to stop him, so he was relieved.

"So do you have to follow me around? Or can you go other places?" Percy asked the quiet ghost. Nico hadn't said much since they left Jason. And if Percy didn't know better, Nico looked troubled by something. He swung himself onto the Pegasus's back and held on as he took off into the sky.

Even though he could fly, levitate; float (whatever) Nico sat on Black Jack behind him. If Black Jack sensed something he didn't react. Apparently the 'all animals see ghosts' thing didn't apply to a Pegasus.

"**No, I have to stay close to my sword."**

Percy couldn't see his face, but he could tell from his voice that Nico was scowling. "Well that's good then. It gives us lots of time to talk."

'Boss? Why are you talking to yourself?'

"No reason Black Jack, just go with it."

'Whatever you say, Boss.'

Behind him, Nico chuckled and an icy feeling washed over his back. He must have been leaning into Percy's back.

Percy tried not to shiver as he felt a cold breath on his ear.

"**What do you want to talk about, Perseus?"**

"Don't call me that," Percy said, trying to lean away from the mischievous ghost behind him. But Nico continued to hang off of him, or whatever he was doing. It was getting really chilly. "Tell me what you were doing in the underworld this whole time."

Nico finally moved away from him, and at first Percy thought the ghost had disappeared.

"Nico?"

"**My father kept me busy. I spent most of my time doing small tasks for him. And when I wasn't helping him I was training, mostly with spirits of the dead, you know what they say about learning from our past."**

"Were your powers growing too? Mine have been going insane." Percy wasn't surprised, Jason, him and Nico were sons of the Big Three. Their powers were stronger than that of a normal Demi-God.

"**I suppose… My father wanted to keep a close eye on me. So I stayed down in the Underworld and he helped me control my new powers."**

"Is that the only reason you stayed away from the surface and your friends for so long?" Percy asked him. He didn't mean to sound so bitter, but he couldn't help it. Nico had left without letting him voice his thoughts, and the Gods only knew if he had been keeping in contact with Hazel.

Nico didn't answer him, and he could feel things slowly growing awkward, so he asked something else.

"What were you doing in Tartarus, Nico? Why would you ever go back to that place?"

"**That's none of your business." **Nico's reply was quick and angrier than Percy would have liked.

The Son of Poseidon sighed loudly and focused his attention on the sky in front of him. Nico had never been an easy person to talk to unless he was geek-ing out over Mythomagic. But this older and broodier version of the Ghost King was definitely going to take some getting used to.

"About what you said to me before you disappeared," Percy said carefully, not wanting to make the situation any worse. "You know, about your feelings for me. You never gave me a chance to say anything."

The cold came back. Nico's form felt much bigger than his own. He tried not to think about what he would do if Nico had grown taller than him

"**Was there any point in hearing it? The only thing you would have said was 'sorry, I'm with Annabeth, and also, I'm straight'. I knew what you would say, so I left before you hurt yourself while trying to form the words."**

Percy frowned. "You're kind of a dick, you know that, right? And how do you know that's how I felt?" His second question was mumbled under his breath. He hoped the blowing wind was loud enough that Nico didn't hear it.

Back then Nico had come to him to confess his feelings, Percy had been happy and madly in love with Annabeth. But it didn't mean he didn't feel anything for Nico.

At first, yes, it was only brotherly love. Nico was only a kid when he rescued him the first time they met. And then everything with Bianca had happened, and Nico left, growing more distant by the day. There was also the incident where the Son of Hades had betrayed him, which Percy forgave long ago.

But when they were fighting Gaea, Nico was just as much a part of the team as everyone else. Nico had led his friends to the House of Hades and had fought alongside them. He risked his life just as much as the others had, all to get him and Annabeth back from Tartarus.

Percy couldn't deny to himself how much Nico had grown after that, or how powerful he had become. Nico had been in Tartarus alone, and survived. He was stronger than Percy could ever hope to be. And he did it all while being weighed down by his feelings and the fear of being rejected for who he was.

That's when brotherly love had turned into friendship. And Percy had planned on becoming the best of friends with him, but Nico had once again grown distant, avoiding him like the plague.

And then both Nico and Annabeth had left, leaving a hole in his heart that he was sure would never be filled.

"_Maybe this is how Nico's felt all his life."_

"**You're ignoring me."**

"Huh?" Percy turned around and looked at the ghost.

Nico narrowed his eyes at him. **"I don't remember you being a person that's often lost in thought. What were you thinking about, Perseus?"**

Percy returned the glare, but he didn't make a comment on Nico's choice of name for him. If he ignored it, maybe he would stop.

"I was thinking about the past." He looked ahead again. "Do you remember how cute you were back then? You were such a nerd."

Percy heard a hiss, and he wasn't sure if it was the wind or Nico. He jumped at the cold breath that touched his ear again.

"**Do you often think about how cute I am, Perseus?"**

Percy tried not to react, but internally he was freaking out, especially when two ghostly arms wrapped themselves around him. "No I don't, I just like thinking back to when you weren't such an ass."

The cold feeling on his ear grew icy, and Percy could almost imagine a tongue tracing the outer shell.

"Anyway," his voice sounded shakier than he would have liked. "What did you ask me before?"

Nico chuckled again. Percy was starting to hate that sound.

"**Nothing, the moment has passed."**

"Whatever dude."

They continued flying until nightfall. They didn't manage to get that much closer to their destination, but Percy wanted to get out of the sky, he didn't want to push his good luck. Zeus hadn't bothered him since he became friends with Jason, but it didn't mean he wouldn't make his life hell for fun.

Percy set up a small camp. He didn't need much, just a small fire so he could warm his food, and his blanket to sleep under.

He started eating and Nico took a seat on the opposite side of the fire. Even in his faded ghost form Percy could make out his black eyes, they appeared more hazel in the firelight.

"Are you gonna sit there and stare at me while I eat?" Percy asked him.

"**Is there anything else for me to do?"**

Percy shrugged and angrily stuck his fork into the can of food he was eating. He could feel Nico's eyes wandering over him, and he wondered if Nico thought he had changed much since they last saw each other.

He couldn't see there being too much of a difference. He grew his hair out a bit longer than Nico would probably remember, and yeah sure he gained a lot of muscle from all his training. But he still had his healthy tanned skin and sea green eyes.

If anything, Nico's transformation was more dramatic. He had changed drastically from the skinny boy that Percy once knew, into a tall and muscular man. He still wore a lot of black, and he still styled his wavy black hair. But there was something in his eyes, something dangerous yet beautiful.

With a start he realized that Nico reminded him more of his father, Hades, than the boy he once knew.

And he could help but feel responsible in some way, even if it wasn't entirely his fault.

"Alright, instead of sitting here and staring at each other awkwardly, how about we come up with some ideas. You know your dad, where would he put a piece of your soul?"

"**Aw… and I was having so much fun staring at you."**

Nico sounded like he was joking, but there was something in his eyes that made Percy think that he wasn't. The younger man reminded him of a lion circling its prey.

"**Never mind," **The look was gone, replaced by an angrier one. **"My guess is he gave my soul to some of his favorite monsters to watch over. Did he say how many pieces he broke it into?"**

"He broke it into five, to represent the five stages of grief."Percy finished with his food and wrapped the blanket around himself. It really was starting to get colder out.

Nico made a sound that was less than impressed.

"**If he's going about it that way, then the first stage is denial. I bet that means the Minotaur is up first, since his father denied his existence and then locked him away in a maze."**

"Oh great…" Percy didn't like the thought of having to fight the Minotaur again. That beast had already caused him enough grief in his life. "Where do you think he is then?"

"**All the free time you had after the war and you still never bother to read up on old Greek legends? Where do you think he is, Perseus?"**

Percy shook his head, it was so damn hard to ignore the way Nico said his full name. "I don't know, I think it was on an island somewhere. I keep thinking of toilets for some reason."

"**Well you're not wrong. The island of Crete was the first place to have indoor plumbing."**

"The island of Crete? Man that's a long way." Black Jack was not going to be happy.

"**It's a few days away. But if it's too much trouble, feel free to go back to the camp. I'll just have to follow you around for the rest of your life."**

Nico smiled at him then, but it wasn't a friendly smile.

"I'm good thanks." Percy lay on his side and closed his eyes. "You take first watch; wake me up in a few hours."

It didn't take long for him to fall asleep.

* * *

For the second time in a row, he was woken up by the sun blinding him. He opened one eye and glared up at the sky, silently cursing it and its bringer, Apollo.

Percy rolled onto his back and rubbed his sleep crusted eyes. _"I hope they have hotels in Crete. It's getting too cold to sleep outside."_

When he opened them again, he almost jumped out of his skin when he saw Nico sitting right next to his head, staring at him.

"What the fuck?!" He sat up and backed himself up against the tree behind him. "How long have you been there?"

Nico didn't look fazed by his freak out.

"**All night."**

"All night? You sat there and stared at me _all night_? Why didn't you wake me up for watch?" He tried not to sound too upset, but hey, he had just been stared at all night while he slept. That's bound to rattle anyone's nerves.

"**I'm dead, Perseus. I don't need to sleep. And besides, you need to be in top fighting condition if you have any hope of completing this quest."**

Percy tried to look angry, but it just ended up turning into a pout. "Whatever man, just don't pull an Edward Cullen on me again. I have enough stress in my life."

"**Who?"**

"Edward Cullen. He's this creeper vampire who watches his love interest while she sleeps. Piper made me watch it when she was giving me relationship advice on what _not _to do when I'm dating someone." To move away from the awkwardness, Percy started rolling his blanket up to put away.

He missed the confused look Nico gave him.

"**You talk in your sleep."**

Percy almost dropped his bag. "No I don't!"

When Nico smiled at him, he knew he was telling the truth.

"Did I say anything stupid?"

The troubled expression returned on Nico's face. Percy wondered what was making the younger man so upset.

"**No, you didn't say anything interesting."**

Percy finished packing his things and called Black Jack over, he jumped on and they took off into the sky again.

Percy tried not to think about why Nico was sitting as far away from him as possible this time.

* * *

By the time they got to Crete, Percy was ready to have a meltdown.

Nico had been pushing him away more than he did eight years ago, but at the same time he would do something weird like touch him or come up behind him and say something in his ear.

Even though the ghost couldn't touch him, it still made him cold. And it annoyed him; Nico had no concept of personal space.

And he kept calling him by his full name, which was also starting to annoy him.

Percy regretted ever thinking he ever had feelings for the man. There was nothing redeeming about him at all anymore.

Nico was cold (excuse the pun) angry and confusing. There was nothing in him that Percy found attractive.

"_Well maybe... just… Okay, he's good looking, but that's all he has going for him."_

Percy tried not to let that thought bother him. That was the first time he had ever admitted to himself that another man was attractive.

Percy found the nearest hotel after he said his goodbyes to Black Jack and booked a room. It wasn't the best hotel, but it was somewhere warm to sleep and his room was small but accommodating.

Nico was sitting on the bed already when he walked in. The ghost looked at him, but made no other move to acknowledge his presence further.

Tired of his attitude, Percy grabbed a change of clothes out of his bag and threw it on the floor, heading into the bathroom for a long shower.

As soon as the water hit him it immediately soothed his aching muscles and rejuvenated him. He sighed and leaned his head against the tiled wall letting his body relax for a bit.

"_I can't wait until this is over and I can go back to camp and pretend this never happened."_

He washed himself and relaxed for a few more minutes before turning the water off.

When he came out of the bathroom, Nico was still on the bed, laying on his back and staring at the ceiling.

He wasn't asleep, but Percy knew he was probably lost in his thoughts like he normally was.

He picked his bag up off the floor and threw it on the small table by the window. "I'm going to go look for the Minotaur; you're welcome to come if you want."

"**You forget I have no choice in the matter." **

"Let's go then, daylight time is wasting."

Nico sat up and gave him a dirty look. **"We've been traveling for four days straight. Get some sleep and then we'll go. We don't need your back giving out in the middle of battle."**

"I'm not that old, ass hole."

Nico glided himself off the bed and took a seat on the window sill instead.

"**Go to sleep, Perseus."**

"Stop calling me that!" Percy yelled as he fell onto the bed and hid his head under the pillows.

He couldn't have slept more than a few more minutes (that's what it felt like at least) before the cold woke him up.

He was laying on his back with a pillow half over his face covering his eyes. The cold was coming from above him, and when he pushed the pillow away, he wasn't surprised to see Nico leaning over him.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"**Stop saying it."**

Percy looked at him confused. Whatever had pissed the Ghost King off, it was serious. "Saying what?"

Nico glared at him, his eyes had that same wild look that Hades often had. Percy couldn't help but feel a little afraid.

"**Stop saying my name, damn it!"**

It took a few seconds for those words to sink in, but when they did, Percy's face turned red. "I did not! Why would I say your name?"

Nico moved closer. His see-through body was already looming over him uncomfortably, but the closeness of their faces was freaking him out.

He tried to push him away but forgot that Nico was a ghost, and his hands just went right through him.

So instead he settled for glaring at him.

"**I don't care why you said it, but I want you to stop."**

And although Nico wasn't breathing air, Percy could still his freezing breath on his face.

"**You don't deserve to say my name like that." **

His eyes flicked down to look at Percy's lips, and for a brief second, Percy thought he was about to (somehow because Nico is a ghost!) get kissed. But instead of kissing him, Nico settled for growling angrily before disappearing completely out of his sight.

Percy sat up and looked over at the window where the Ghost King was sitting once again. He was avoiding Percy's eyes and looking out the foggy glass.

"**Hurry up and get ready, we're leaving."**

"Fine." Percy collected himself and then went to go find his jacket. He wasn't sure if he should be angry, embarrassed or confused about what just happened. But he did know the best way to clear his head was to go fight some monsters.

The Minotaur wouldn't stand a chance.

"_I wonder what he meant by 'I'm not allowed to say his name like that'? That doesn't even make sense."_

He pulled his jacket on and grabbed Nico's sword off of his bag. He used some rope to secure it on his back so it would be out of the way, but close by if he needed it.

Nico did his 'Ghost thing' and appeared in front of him.

"**Are you ready?"**

He still looked mad (what else is new?) but it wasn't a look that said he was going to kill innocent children any time soon, so Percy figured he was safe for now.

"Yeah, let's go kill the Minotaur."

* * *

Oh Nico, why you so angry? I hope you all enjoyed this. Next chapter we shall see some action!


	3. It's all down hill from here

I made a huge mistake and went and bought Skyrim. That's why this is late. Omg please save me.

* * *

As it turned out, the Minotaur really wasn't happy to see Percy again.

It may have had something to do with Hades trapping him down inside a maze much like King Minos had done long ago.

Or maybe he had woken up on the wrong side of the Labyrinth.

Either way, Percy felt like he was screwed.

"**His horn isn't going to get stuck in the stone! Stop trying to use the same tactic you used last time!"**

"I know that! I was dodging him!"

"**Then stop running! If you can defeat Kronos and Gaea, I'm sure you can handle a Minotaur."**

The Minotaur snorted angrily.

"**No offense."**

Percy chose to use the temporary distraction and ran down the nearest corridor. The Minotaur hadn't waited for him to find the middle of the Labyrinth, but instead attacked him as soon as his caught the scent of his Demi-God blood.

Which meant Percy was forced to try and maneuver around in the narrow halls, barely able to doge any of the beast's attacks.

"**You're running again."**

"Stop bothering me, Nico. Not all of us have the ability to turn into a shadow. I have to deal with walls surrounding me and a bull, a very large and angry bull I might add, trying to kill me."

As if confirming just how angry he was, the Minotaur let out a huge roar that shook the walls of the maze.

Percy had to cover his ears to keep from going deaf.

He barely had time to stumble into a small circular room before the Minotaur was on him again, his head lowered in a charge.

Percy feebly raised Riptide in front of him, trying to aim for a vital part before he was slammed and pinned to a wall.

Riptide cut into the thick corded muscle on the Minotaur's neck, but it didn't go deep enough to cause any damage. If anything, it just made him madder.

The Minotaur snorted and shoved his face right against Percy's, glaring the Demi-God down. The hatred in his eyes would have made any weaker person break down in tears.

But Percy, being the genius that he was simple said, "My Gods, you're gorgeous."

"**Good job, Perseus."**

The Minotaur roared again and drew his head back, intending to impale Percy on the one horn he had left.

Percy quickly grabbed onto that horn and swung himself up on the bulls shoulders, holding on for dear life when the beast started struggling and shaking to get him off.

The Son of Poseidon reached for his powers and latched onto all the water molecules in the Minotaur's body.

The monster must have sensed something was wrong and he doubled his efforts to dislodge Percy, roaring and screaming, even smashing himself against the wall.

Percy pulled all the water out of the Minotaur's tissues and blood. The bulky bull starting shrinking before his eyes, and quickly became an emaciated skeleton, barely able to stand.

He fell to his side and Percy jumped off before he was crushed under the still large monster.

When he was sure the bull wasn't getting up again, he released the water and it hit the floor with a splash.

Now unable to move, the Minotaur whined pathetically and twitched, still trying to fight.

Percy felt horrible.

"**What just happened?"**

Nico actually look surprised.

Percy shook his head, "it's something I've been training myself to do for a while now. This is the first time I've ever used it on a living creature." He tried to stand up, but sharp pain from his ankle stopped him.

"I think he fucked up my ankle when I got slammed against the wall."

"**Did you bring any ambrosia?"**

"Umm…"

The ghost rolled his eyes and leaned himself against the wall.

"**Well I guess you'll have to suck it up until you get back to our room then."**

Percy sighed and pulled the backpack off his back. He untied Nico's sword and used it to help him to his feet.

Nico watched him with narrowed eyes. He didn't want to admit it, but Percy had grown more powerful than he would have thought possible. He couldn't imagine what it would be like to be able to control the water in someone's body like that. And there was no escaping an attack like that; everyone had water in their body.

No wonder Zeus always bitched about how powerful Percy was.

Another pathetic whine from the Minotaur drew him away from his thoughts. He watched silently as Percy limped over to the beast, saying a few quiet words to him.

Percy really did look upset by what he had done. After all the wars and the battles, he still had enough compassion to feel sorry for an enemy. That was something Nico had lost long ago, he tried not to resent Percy for being able to keep that part of himself.

"Until next time," Percy said as he raised the black blade and stabbed it through the Minotaur's heart and he disappeared in a cloud of gold dust.

Nico didn't have the guts to tell him there would be no next time. Once a monster was killed by his sword, they never came back.

They both watched as the dust gathered around the stygian blade and slowly got absorbed into the metal, making it glow white hot before turning back to black.

Percy held the sword in front of him and shrugged before settling to use it as a crutch once again, "I don't think my ankle is broken." He moved the sore appendage, wincing at the pain. "I think it's just badly sprained."

He tried not to read too much into the look Nico was giving him. The ghostly man was still leaning against the wall of the circular room, not saying anything.

Percy huffed angrily and looked around the room, noting the two exits. "So… I don't mean to make a bad situation worse, but I totally didn't bring any string down here to help guide us out."

"**How did you survive on the earth for so long?"**

"Fuck off."

It took them a total of five hours to find their way out of the Labyrinth. They could have done it in half of that, but with Percy's wrecked ankle, moving was slow.

By the time they got back to their room, Percy was covered with sweat from the pain, and was barely able to walk. And Nico was a lot angrier than the usual which was saying a lot.

Percy barely managed to sit down on the bed and swallow a mouthful of ambrosia before Nico turned on him, his anger explosive.

"**Why the hell would you not bring that with you? You knew you were going into battle. Why do you claim to be so smart and then do something stupid like that?"**

Nico hovered in front of him, his height making him look even more intimidating.

Seeing how angry Nico was made something inside Percy snap, "if you want to talk about stupid things, how about we talk about why you were in Tartarus again?" He didn't raise his voice, instead keeping a calm and serious tone.

"**This isn't about me, Perseus—"**

"Yes it is, Nico!" Percy jumped to his feet, ignoring the shooting pain in his ankle and glared at the Ghost King. "This whole fucking thing is about you. You're the reason I'm here in the first place! Why did you go into Tartarus again? What reason could you possibly have to go back there?"

Nico backed away from him.

"**It's—"**

"If you say it's none of my business, I WILL throw your sword in the ocean and leave it there."

Nico's anger dissipated a bit, but he still looked pissed. He was torn between telling the furious Water Prince the truth and keeping his dignity.

"**I needed something."**

Percy sat back down on the bed and crossed his arms over his chest, waiting for him to continue.

Nico drifted over to the small dining table and placed himself on top of it.

"**I needed something from the river Lethe. It's something that only exists in a select part of the river."**

"The part that's in Tartarus I presume?" Percy sighed, "What could you possibly want to forget so badly that you would risk going there again?"

Nico's anger returned again, his cold gaze reminding Percy too much of Hade's glare.

"**I don't know, Perseus. What possible reason could I have for wanting to wipe out my memories?"**

"If you're making some snarky comment about your past feelings toward me, I know that's a lie. Your dad already told me you were over me."

"**It's not about you!"**

Percy wasn't convinced. "Are you sure? Because the way you've been treating me lately suggests otherwise."

"**I wanted to forget I'm gay! There, are you happy now?"**

Nico swung his hand at the table, knocking off a few items in his anger.

Both men watched the stuff hit the floor in amazement, before Nico growled and disappeared in a swirl of black smoke.

Percy looked down at the floor as his mind started racing. Nico must have a bit of his soul back if he was able to touch things in his ghostly form. So at least he knew what they were doing was helping.

But Nico's revelation was troubling.

Percy couldn't understand why Nico would want to forget about being gay. It was a part of who he was, and he doubted no item or amount of swimming in the river Lethe could change that.

He groaned and fell back onto the bed, his exhausted body was demanding sleep, and Percy was too tired to argue anymore.

He would figure this thing out with Nico after he could think properly.

* * *

Of course, his dreams had other ideas.

As he stood facing some kind of monster he couldn't properly make out, (because that's how dreams worked) he couldn't help but feel that something was about to go horribly wrong.

He looked to his left, his eyes meeting Nico's.

The ghost looked more like a real live person at that point. He was still see-through, but there was a solidness to him that wasn't natural.

"**The last one, are you ready, Perseus?"**

Nico's voice was distant, the way it always was in dreams, and Percy was having hard time focusing on him. So he nodded, hoping that would be answer enough for him.

Nico smiled at him then, and Percy knew he was blushing. That was no friendly smile he was receiving, it was a smile that promised there would be clothes being ripped off later.

Percy had never imagined what it would feel like to have the Son of Hades look at him like that, but he found he kind of liked it.

Without telling his body to, he was suddenly running at the monster, Riptide raised in his right hand in front of him and Nico's sword in his left.

Percy was moving in slow motion as he ran, but the monster seemed to be moving at full speed, easily dodging around him and running for Nico who was defenceless behind him.

He wasn't even able to turn himself around when he heard a horrible, hair raising scream as the monster ripped Nico apart.

* * *

Percy's eyes flew open.

He sat up and wiped the sweat off his forehead, his whole body shaking.

'_It was a dream. It was a dream, Percy. Nico's still alive, you're still alive. The world is still turning.'_

He jumped a foot in the air as cold fingers brushed his cheek.

"Fuck, Nico! Don't touch me when I'm having a panic attack!" He shooed Nico's hand away (trying not to touch him) and lay back on the bed. He tried to get his breathing and heart rate back to normal, but that was proving difficult when Nico was leaning over him looking at him like he was concerned.

"What?"

"**You were screaming in your sleep."**

Percy slapped a hand over his face, "Oh yay, I'm glad my nightmares terrify me enough to make me scream out loud."

"**I'd rather make you scream in another way."**

Percy barely heard it, but he still knew what Nico said, "Why do you do that?" He moved his hand and looked up at the ghost who was regarding him with interest.

"**Do what?"**

"That sexual innuendo thing. You say you want to forget the fact you're gay, and deny whatever you feel, and then you go and do something like hit on me or make comments like that."

Nico looked away from him, he didn't appear angry but Percy knew that could change on a dime.

"**I was tired of being stuck where I was."**

"Stuck?" Percy asked him. "How were you stuck?"

Nico frowned, he looked conflicted.

"**You're a lucky person, Perseus. Even after Annabeth left you, you were able to move on and try to find someone else. I'm not like that."**

He paused and looked at Percy who was waiting patiently for him to continue.

"**My father was correct in saying that I was over you. I was over the fact that you would never return my feelings, so I went back to the underworld and learn to deal with the fact that I would be alone for the rest of my life. Because unlike you, I can't give my heart away to anyone else, it wouldn't be fair to them; I just wouldn't be in it."**

Now Percy looked surprised, but he remained silent so Nico could continue.

"**That's why I'm so angry with you, Perseus. I couldn't move on and give my heart to another, so I hoped that if I completely forgot that I was gay, I might be able to move on. I was willing to risk everything, that's how much you torment me."**

"Nico…"

"**I know this still won't change things later, and that's okay. After I'm revived I'll go back to the Underworld, and I won't go back to Tartarus. I don't want Dad to come and bother you again."**

"You're doing it again." Percy said sharply.

Nico raised an eyebrow.

"**Doing what?"**

"You're cutting me off before I can answer, and then assuming the worst when you don't give me enough time to reply." Percy sat up and went to lay a hand on Nico's shoulder, but of course it passed right through.

"All those years ago, you never let me tell you my answer."

"**That's because I knew your answer."**

Nico's voice rose slightly, but he still wasn't at explosive anger mode.

"You know what they say about 'assuming'. Would it really be so surprising to think that I might have had feelings toward you too?" He stopped to allow his words to sink in.

"I just never thought about it until you confessed your feelings. And at first yes, I was a little confused, but I was mostly angry because you shouldered all of that for so long without telling me. You said we were friends, and then you went and hid something big like that from me."

Nico turned away, looking guilty now.

"After knowing me for as long as you did, did you really think I could ever be disgusted with you?" He asked him quietly. "There must have been some reason you were in love with me. I must have been a good guy to make you feel like that toward me."

Percy fell silent and waiting for Nico to say something. He tried not to fidget as the minutes dragged on, and for a brief second he thought that Nico had fallen asleep or something.

Which would be really uncool.

"**You mean to say… I went and sulked for all these years, when really you had feelings for me this whole time?"**

"Well, I guess," said Percy. "I'm still not really sure what I feel for you, but I know it's there."

When Nico looked at him, he was expecting some expression of happiness, but instead he looked furious.

"**I need to think alone for a while."**

And then he was gone again.

"Note to self: When Nico has a solid body; don't do anything to piss him off unless you want to be punched through a wall."

He sighed, he was still exhausted from his fight, and the after images from his dream were still worrying him.

Percy slowly got to his feet and shuffled himself into the bathroom. His ankle was still sore, but it wasn't unbearable. He tuned the water on and got in the shower, the water immediately rejuvenated him, getting rid of all his aches and pain.

He probably stood there for an hour. All of his scratches and bruises from the previous battle were now gone, and his ankle was actually able to hold his weight. Percy turned the water off and pulled back the curtains.

Coming face to face with Nico.

Letting out a not too manly scream, Percy jumped back and grabbed the shower curtain, wrapping it around him like a dress.

Nico's grumpy expression gave way to a delighted smirk.

Percy wanted to throw something at him.

"Can I help you?"

Nico shrugged.

"**Not really, I'm just taking in the sights of Crete."**

"Fuck off, you pervert."

Nico cackled and disappeared again.

Percy couldn't help but feel things were only going to get worse.

* * *

Time to start building that sexual tension. You can probably imagine how bad it's going to get now that Nico can slightly touch things when he tries.

Hopefully I'll see you all next week.

I promise nothing.

Mwahahaha.


	4. All These Feels

Enjoy the chapter~~~~

* * *

Percy spent the next few days recovering from his fight and trying to ignore Nico who had become very fond of pestering him. Now that the mischievous ghost could touch things when putting in some effort, he made it his personal obligation to bother the hell out of Percy as much as possible.

He even went as far as putting a white sheet over his head and following him around the small hotel room.

It got old fast, especially when all Percy wanted to do was make a damn sandwich and watch some bad TV.

"Dude, come on. How old are you?" He asked Nico, who was currently blocking his view of the TV with the damn sheet still over his head.

Nico's concentration must have broken or something, because the sheet feel right through him to land on the floor and Nico fixed him with an amused expression.

"**I'm twenty two, Perseus. Don't kill my mood; I haven't been this close to being alive in a long time."**

Percy wasn't dumb. He knew there was something else that had put the Ghost King in such a chipper mood. After Percy had announced he may, possibly, sort of, kind of, just a little maybe had feelings for him; Nico hadn't been able to sit still.

Percy still wasn't sure exactly what those feelings were, but a month was a long time, hopefully he would have them figure out by then.

"I'm just saying you need to chill. And please get out of my way; I want to know what Joanna is going to do now that she knows Sean is cheating on her."

Nico turned from Percy to look at the TV behind him.

"**Really? You find these kinds of shows amusing?"**

"When there's nothing else on, I do."

Nico silently drifted away from the TV and perched himself on the back of the couch beside Percy.

They watched the TV together, the only vocalization coming from Percy when he got mad at one of the characters, or when the show was interrupted with commercials.

Nico slowly moved closer until he was sitting right next to Percy. He paid no attention to the TV, and instead stared intently at the Sea Prince. He observed him, taking in every one of Percy's expressions, the way his lips twitched when he was amused, or the way his brow furrowed when he was angry.

Percy completely ignored him, almost forgetting Nico was there.

That was, until he felt cold fingers brush his cheek.

"What are you doing?" Percy turned to look at the ghost, who drew his fingers back.

"**I wanted to see if I could touch you."**

Percy tried not to move away as the fingers came back, brushing over his cheeks leaving an icy feeling behind.

Nico's eyes were half lidded, but Percy could tell he was concentrating hard.

"**You're warm."**

"And you're freezing." Percy replied, still not moving when the fingers moved lower to trace his lips.

The TV was momentarily forgotten as Nico continued to feel his face.

This was the first time since Nico's ghost appeared that Percy was able to really get a good look at him. When he was younger, Percy had remembered looking at Nico thinking the kid was too skinny. His cheeks were hollowed out and the black circles under his eyes had made him look like the skeletons he summoned.

But this older, more mature Nico was different. Even though his color was faded in his ghost form, Percy could tell Nico had somehow regained the olive skin he had before running off to the underworld. The shadows under his eyes were gone as far as he could tell, making Nico look so much more grown up. Not to mention, the muscle mass Nico had gained. Whatever workout routine he had, it was working.

He almost matched Percy in muscle mass now.

Damn him.

"**You're staring at me."**

Percy blinked, he had zoned out again. His face turned red when he realized Nico was smirking at him. No man should be allowed to be that attractive.

Instead of saying that though, he stupidly replied, "you stare at me all the time, while I'm sleeping too."

Nico neither confirmed nor denied that fact. His smirk just widened further as Percy's blush continued to deepen.

Percy stuttered and looked away so Nico couldn't see his face. "You're lucky we're not kids anymore, or I would be an ass and start calling you Death Breath again."

Nico's deep chuckle did not at all make a shiver run down his spine.

"**But we're not kids anymore are we, Perseus?"**

Cold fingers cupped his chin, and much to his amazement Percy felt his face being turned toward Nico's. He was getting good at touching things.

"**We're both grown men here, even though the 'growing' part maybe only applied to me. Your mom was short too though; the genes of the gods can't fix everything I suppose."**

"Are you calling me short?"

Nico was still smirking at him, and Percy wanted nothing more than to run and hide under a rock. The smug bastard, of course he had to be taller than him. Curse his lanky Italian genes.

The annoying ghost moved his face closer, but Percy stood his ground, not wanting to back out of a fight.

"**Don't worry, Perseus. I find it adorable."**

They were close enough to kiss now. Nico's cold breath washed over his face, cooling down his heated cheeks.

"Don't call me Perseus," Percy couldn't move away. Half of him was hoping that Nico would just kiss him already. The other half wanted to punch him in his smirking see-through face.

But Nico moved away instead and glided to the other side of the couch.

Percy shook his head and turned back to the TV.

His show was over, and he had no idea what happened!

He looked over at Nico who was smiling and looking proud of himself.

The bastard…

"You distracted me on purpose so I wouldn't see the end, didn't you?"

"**Their drama was pissing me off; I needed to take drastic measures."**

Percy picked up the remote and flicked through the channels. "You're an asshole." He flicked through a few more channels before he found the one with all the wedding shows.

"**What are you doing?"**

Nico wasn't smiling anymore, and Percy tried not to laugh at his almost comically confused expression. This was his moment to be a badass!

"I'm going to get something to eat." He stood up and stretched before putting the TV remote in his sweater pocket. "I'll leave your sword here; I don't want it to get scratched or something. I'll be back in an hour or so."

Nico had obviously caught on to what he was planning.

"**I'll just turn the TV off, your revenge plan sucks."**

Percy shrugged, "well until you learn how to turn the TV off, I guess you'll be stuck with that channel."

"**Perseus—"**

"Bye, Neeks!" Percy yelled as he ran out the door.

He knew Nico could follow him at least as far as outside of the room, so he ran down the hall almost smashing into one of the housecleaners.

Crete wasn't anything like New York, but it did have a few nice places to grab something to eat. So Percy took his time and enjoyed himself, knowing he was probably going to have to face a pissed off Ghost King when he returned.

Just thinking of how upset Nico had been at the thought of watching girly shows made him cackle out loud.

After thirty minutes had past, Percy decided that Nico had probably been through enough torture and he made his way back to the hotel.

By then it was mid-day, and the streets were busy with a tour of some sorts. Percy tried to stay out of their way, but the streets were narrow and it was hard to avoid them.

Out of habit, he kept his hand in his pocket, ready to take out Riptide at any moment. This was the most dangerous part of the world for Demi-Gods to be in after all. He was amazed he hadn't gotten run out of his hotel by monsters yet.

He was almost out of the crowd when he heard a familiar voice call out to him.

"Percy?!"

"_Fuck, really?"_

He turned and his heart sank when the familiar face of Annabeth appeared. She jogged over to him, her golden curls bouncing with every step.

She hadn't changed much. Her eyes were still a steely gray, her hair was still perfect and blond, and she still had that aura around her that always drew Percy in. She had been everything to him at one point, and for a brief second, he remembered what it felt like to be with her, and he _missed _it.

"Hey, Annabeth."

She threw herself into his arms and he hugged her back, trying not to be too obvious when he let go and backed away as fast as he could.

"What are you doing here, Seaweed Brain? Don't you know these parts are dangerous?"

Percy tried not to make a comment about her dress clothes. He was just so used to seeing her wearing jeans and an orange camp T-shirt. "I could say the same to you," he replied.

She rolled her eyes like she always did when she was amused by how dumb he was.

Percy hadn't known how much it bothered him until now.

"Don't worry about me. I'm here with good friends; we look out for each other." She gestured to a few unfamiliar Demi-Gods who were standing not too far away. "We're here to look at some of the architecture here, it's nothing compared to other parts of the world, but it's not bad."

"That's cool." Percy wasn't really sure of what to say. When had it become so hard to talk to her?

"Maybe if you're sticking around we can grab a coffee or something?" She asked him then, and Percy tried not to sound too standoffish.

"I'm good, thanks. I have someone waiting for me to get back. I'll talk to you later." He tried to wave goodbye, but she pulled him in for another hug.

With a pang of annoyance he realized she was just as tall as him. When had everyone become taller or the same height as him?

"Maybe another time then, I'll catch you later." She pecked him on the cheek before returning to her friends.

He waved one last time and then booked it back to the hotel. There was no poor housecleaner to run into this time thankfully, and he made it back to his room without further incident.

Just as he walked in and closed the door behind him, he was suddenly slammed against it by an unseen force.

"Ouch! What the hell?" Percy opened his eyes and came face to face with a very angry Nico.

"**Perseus…"**

"Yep, that's my name, but I also go by the name Percy. You should try using it some time." He rubbed the back of his head, not at all concerned when Nico growled lowly and used his new found ability to push him harder against the door with his cold body.

He knew if he pushed hard enough he could probably escape. Nico wasn't solid after all, but he didn't care, it was either this or fight for the next few hours.

The TV was visible through the angry spirit and Percy tried not to laugh when he saw that the wedding channel was still on.

"**Perseus…"**

Cold fingers lifted his chin up so that he was looking right at Nico's face. His good mood was instantly gone when he registered the fact that Nico was at least a foot taller than him.

"You deserved it."

Nico narrowed his eyes at him and Percy sighed.

"Look, if you're going to kiss me or punch me, do it. But after you've got your revenge, maybe we should start talking about the next piece of soul we have to get."

He didn't tell Nico about Annabeth's sudden appearance, or the reason he wanted to leave was because of her. He hoped Nico wouldn't catch on and would provide them with a plan so they could just leave.

When the ghost narrowed his eyes further, he knew that Nico had caught on to his mood. But he didn't comment on it.

Instead he floated away from him and went back to his spot on the windowsill.

Percy groaned, still rubbing the back of his head and he dragged his feet over to the bed and collapsed on it.

"**The Chimera is nearby. I guarantee she's one of the five. I can imagine her level of hatred is high after everything that's happened to her."**

"Where is she at then?" Percy's voice was muffled by the bed, but Nico could still make him out.

"**Antalya, Turkey." **

"Man, now I'm hungry again." Percy grumbled as he rolled over onto his back.

"**Didn't you just eat?"**

"I'm sorry for having a black hole for a stomach." He jumped as Nico reappeared over him with the cold air that always followed him.

"**I can offer you a pomegranate if you'd like?"**

Percy didn't know how that would solve anything. He didn't understand what the fruit of the underworld could do for a Son of Poseidon.

Nico leaned closer, the smirk from earlier that day back once again.

"**Don't worry, I'd only let you have a couple of bites. Then you would be able to come back to the surface world for a few months to see your friends again."**

"Oh?" He vaguely remembered something about eating food in Hades' realm, and how it was bad for you.

"**But as soon as those few months ran out, I'd drag you back down to the underworld."**

Then Nico leaned down and Percy could feel the cold pressure of lips on his cheek. They were kissing the exact same spot that Annabeth had only shortly before.

Percy moved his face to the side and Nico startled, losing his concentration, and his form went back to being mist.

"I should get some sleep before we head out. We'll catch the nine o'clock ferry tonight." Percy rolled over onto his side and closed his eyes. He tried to ignore the painful beating of his heart, but he couldn't stop thinking of the disappointed expression on Nico's face.

He didn't like to reject the specter, but he couldn't think clearly with Annabeth so close. He needed to get away from the island.

* * *

Once they took the ferry back to Athens, Percy rented a car and they were on the road again.

If Nico was surprised that Percy knew how to drive, he didn't show it. In fact, he hadn't shown any emotion since they left the hotel the night before. It had been a long nine hour ferry ride, and Percy had dozed off for most of it.

But now that they were stuck together in a small space, they were practically forced to socialize. And Percy was determined to get Nico talking again, and maybe if he was brave enough, he would apologize for the night before.

"**Something happened when you left the hotel room yesterday, didn't it?"**

Well there went that idea.

Percy glanced at Nico out of the corner of his eye, but the ghost was too busy melting the window with his glare to pay any attention to Percy.

"Not really," Percy said in the least guilty voice he could manage. "I just… I don't know. Something happened and I kind of freaked out."

"**If the idea of having feelings for me repulses you, just say it. I don't like to be lead on, Perseus."**

"I never said that, _di Angelo_. You are such a damn drama queen. It's like I'm dating a woman, seriously."

Nico looked at him then.

"**We're not dating."**

"I don't think that's the part of that statement you should be upset about."

When Nico went quiet again, Percy sighed loudly and banged his head against the headrest on his seat. "Look, I ran into Annabeth yesterday. I know it's like the Gods hate me or something. Anyway, we talked and it just freaked me out."

"**Freaked you out?"**

"Yeah," Percy continued. "It was almost depressing how fast I realized that Annabeth is not and never will be the one for me. She's just so… condescending. Sure I miss the good times, but I'm over her. I just panicked when I came to that conclusion so fast."

When he glanced over at Nico again, he was looking at him.

"I don't know why, but I feel like everything is just easier around you. I know we fight and bicker a lot, but it's fun. I couldn't even talk to her, I had no interest in what she was even doing there, and all I could think about was getting back to our room so I could hang out with you."

He paused before adding, "I don't know why, but it just feels better being with you."

"**Stop the car."**

Percy tried not to flinch at how angry Nico sounded. "Why?"

Not that he thought Nico could kill him, but his tone said otherwise, so he wasn't going to take any chances.

"**Just pull the damn thing over."**

Reluctantly, Percy did as he was told.

As soon as the car was put in park, cold fingers were on his face, turning him toward Nico.

"Wha—"

But he was cut off by the cold pressure of lips against his own.

It lasted only a few seconds before Nico lost his control on his solid form and the kiss ended, but it was enough.

Percy felt his face warm up and he briefly wondered if him blushing around Nico was going to become a regular occurrence.

"**Perseus."**

"Yes?"

And Nico was kissing him again.

He was starting to like the way Nico said his name.


	5. Like Water on Rock

Sorry for delay.

* * *

For the rest of the drive to Antalya, Nico stayed secluded to his side of the vehicle. They chatted easily and discussed a plan of action, all the awkwardness from before completely gone.

But Percy could feel the intensity of Nico's eyes on him. He avoided looking at the ghost at all costs, not wanting to turn into a sputtering and blushing mess.

He had kissed a guy.

He, Percy Jackson, had locked lips with another man.

Well a dead man, but it still counted, right?

They drove until it was well past sunset, and by the time Percy pulled the car over, he was yawning. He parked the car far away from the side of the road, trying to hide it from view as best as he could. "We can drive the rest of the ten hours tomorrow. Are you going to keep watch tonight?"

"**It's not like I can sleep, Perseus. Get some rest; you'll be the one fighting the battle tomorrow."**

And without another word, Nico levitated through the car roof and disappeared.

Percy moved the seat back into a semi laying down position and tried to get comfortable. "Wake me up if anything happens."

He closed his eyes, trying to get his mind to settle down, but it was still racing. He kept telling Nico that his feelings weren't set yet, and that he still needed to go slow. But the problem was, he didn't know if that was the case anymore.

He genuinely felt attracted to Nico, and had found himself checking the other man out way more than was appropriate (even if he was dead and still kind of a ghost). But did that necessarily mean he… loved him?

No. Not yet.

He still had a little ways to go. He liked Nico, he like his grumpy attitude and the way he would half smirk when he was amused by something. He liked talking to Nico, since they both had things in common, and he felt confident in being himself around the surly ghost.

But all these things were fine as they were who's to say the Ghost King wouldn't turn into a completely different person when he regained his life? Would he still feel the same?

He must have lain awake for hours, because when Nico called out to him, he felt like he had barely slept at all.

"**Perseus, something is coming toward us!"**

Percy groaned and sat up, his hand already wrapping tightly around Riptide in his pocket. He stumbled out of the car and clicked the pen, holding it out in front of him. "Where?"

The open area around them was silent.

Riptide gave off a faint glow, barely lighting the area, but he couldn't see anything, nor hear anything.

Nico appeared beside him.

"**I saw it approaching from the east, over that plain there."**

He gestured to the wide open field in the distance.

Percy squinted his eyes, but either Nico could see really well in the dark, or there was nothing there. "Can you still see it?" He asked him.

"**No, I'm not sure where it went. I looked away when I went to wake you up, and now it's gone."**

"Could it be the Chimera?"

Nico shook his head.

"**The Chimera lives in the mountains. It wouldn't come down to a place like this where it's vulnerable."**

Percy's reflexes suddenly kicked in and he dodged to the side, barely escaping being skewered by the monster that had appeared behind him.

He stepped back, trying to lure it away from the car. The moonlight finally illuminated it and revealed a very angry Manticore.

The grotesque creature had the face of a man and the body of a lion with a tail of a scorpion. It flicked its stinger around, looking disappointed that it hadn't stung its prey.

Percy scanned the area, looking for some water to drown it in, but the only source came from a spring a mile away. He didn't want to drain the creature, it took too much energy and he needed to keep his strength up when he faced the Chimera.

The Manticore lunged at him, its tail pulled back to strike.

Percy side stepped, almost getting caught in the monsters claws. He hacked at it as it passed, aiming for the tail, but Riptide missed and instead sliced into the monsters flank.

It howled and hissed, its eyes fixing on Percy with a renewed burning intensity.

"**Don't bother trying to cut its tail off, just go for the heart."**

"Yeah because that's easier said than done."

When the Manticore ran at him again Percy also charged. Quicker than it could follow, Percy used its face for leverage as he flipped himself onto its back and stabbed Riptide into its hide, going for the heart.

The Manticore roared and bucked wildly, trying to get Percy off. But unlike the Minotaur, the Manticore had long feline-like arms that were good for grabbing onto things.

Percy cried out as he was ripped off of the monsters back, it claws sliced into his side and blood spilled onto the ground below at an alarming rate.

The Manticore slammed him and pinned him to the ground, its claws digging into his chest to keep him still. The tail came into view, its stinger poised and ready to finish the job.

Percy scrambled for his pocket, almost laughing out loud when his fingers curled around his trusty pen, which had returned to his pocket. He clicked it and struck, the Celestial bronze sinking deep into the Manticore's heart.

It howled one last time before disappearing into a crumbling pile of dust.

With a groan, Percy dropped Riptide to the ground and lay there, too sore to move. His side was still bleeding badly and his chest wasn't in the best of shape either.

"**Perseus."**

Nico's form appeared overhead and Percy tried not to laugh at how upset he looked.

"Heeeyyy… I killed it." Then he giggled, not able to contain his mirth when Nico narrowed his eyes at him.

"**We need to get you to the water; you're losing a lot of blood."**

"Really? Is that why I feel so light headed?" He wanted to laugh again, but he didn't want to piss Nico off anymore. So instead he rolled over and tried to get to his feet, which proved to be a difficult task.

After standing on his unsteady feet and almost passing out twice, he finally managed to drag himself to the car.

Once he was sitting in the seat, he took a blanket from the back seat and made it into a makeshift bandage, trying to stop the bleeding as best as he could.

Nico appeared in the passenger's seat, still looking worried.

"It's fine, Neeks, if we get back on the road and drive for another fifteen minutes, we'll come to a bridge that has lots of water under it. I'm sure I can keep it together until then." He turned the car on and hit the gas, ignoring the worried glances Nico continued to send him.

It was the longest fifteen minutes of his life; Percy decided when they finally reached the bridge. Nico had to keep touching him to keep him awake, and the blood had already soaked through his handmade bandage.

"Maybe I should have brought Jason along at least," Percy mumbled as he struggled to get out of the car.

Luckily the bridge side rails were wide enough for him to squeeze through without much effort. He waved at Nico before letting himself fall backwards and plummet into the water.

The water immediately went to work, closing the wounds on his body to stop the bleeding and rejuvenate his energy.

He let out a content (underwater) sigh and closed his eyes, allowing the water to do its work. He hovered there, regaining his strength until the water started to lighten up with the rising sun.

He stretched, testing how much his body had recovered. Besides a dull ache in his side where the worst wound had been, he felt pretty good, so he swam to the surface and climbed onto the shore.

He untied the blanket from around him and willed the water away, leaving him dry and warm.

Nico was still on the bridge with the car, not able to go too far with his sword still inside. But Percy could tell he was relieved when he smiled.

"Have I really been down there that long?" He called out as he started to climb up the small hill and onto the bridge.

"**You've been down there for hours, I thought you were dead. I was about to ask Dad to search the underworld for your soul."**

Percy smiled and laughed as he finally made it back, "I'm glad you have such faith in me."

Nico reached out and cupped his chin.

"**I'm sorry that I see you more as a human than as a God, Perseus. I worry for you, you're not invincible."**

Now Percy was starting to feel warm for a whole other reason as Nico continued to stare at him with that look in his eyes.

He waved Nico's hand away but the ghost quickly leaned down and kissed him on the cheek before he could get away.

Percy laughed nervously and ran quickly to the driver's side of the car, trying his best to hide his blush.

Nico was already in the passenger's seat when he opened the door and sat down.

"**Why is your face so red, Perseus?"**

Percy started the car and avoided Nico's face, "shut up."

For the rest of the ten hour drive to Antalya they didn't see any other monsters. Percy was very grateful, he didn't want to admit it out loud, but he was still tired from his last fight. The long drive gave him more time to rest, even though what he really needed was a long nap.

He wasn't planning on resting until he took the Chimera out. After she was gone and they had another piece of Nico's soul in hand, then Percy would sleep for at least three days straight.

And he would eat, a lot.

And maybe watch some bad TV to annoy Nico.

Nico didn't like this plan at all (of course) he wanted Percy to fully recover before going after the monster, but Percy ignored him. The quicker they got it over with, the better.

So after a quick stop at a small convenience store to grab some energy drinks, they drove back out of the city, to the area where Nico claimed the Chimera would be.

Turkey was a mountainous area anyway, but Percy couldn't get over just how crazy it became further out. The twists and turns of the road were almost making him dizzy as they continued to climb in altitude.

With only a few hours left of daylight, they finally stopped the car in a less secluded part of the country and started hiking up the mountain side on foot.

"**On the other side of this mountain is a small valley where she used to live in ancient times. Even though this area has changed a lot, I can guarantee that where she returned to."**

"Sounds good to me," Percy said as he downed his last energy drink. "You just lead the way, Neeks." He grinned when Nico glared at him.

"**Is calling me Neeks your revenge for me calling you Perseus?"**

Percy shrugged, "well I was gonna call you Buttercup, but I think Neeks suits you better."

Nico rolled his eyes and drifted away from him to take the lead.

The terrain soon turned from walkable to unbearable, Percy was starting to regret not resting before the upcoming battle.

The rocky mountainside was very unstable, and Percy had to catch himself several times to keep from falling off the side. There was no way he was going to be able to sneak up on the Chimera that was for sure.

Meanwhile, Nico floated silently over the ground without any trouble. Every once in a while he would turn around to smirk at him.

"Come on, Neeks. Slow down, I can't keep up." Percy was started to contemplate taking Nico's sword off his belt and throwing it down into the valley below and leaving it there.

Nico ignored him and started moving down the hill.

Percy skittered down after him, trying not to fall and break his neck. But with the increasing darkness, he didn't see the end of the cliff approaching and he walked right off it.

He yelped and fell onto the ground below, almost landing on his face.

Thankfully it wasn't a huge drop.

"**We're here."**

Percy groaned and stood up, brushing the dirt off his jeans. "Where's here?"

Nico pointed behind him and Percy spun around, almost jumping out of his skin when he saw the Chimera laying behind him.

She was resting inside a small cave, and she had obviously been half way through eating her meal when they showed up. She looked as surprised as they were, the chuck of whatever animal she was eating fell out of her mouth and hit the ground with a loud 'thump'.

"Why did you bring me right to her? I don't even have my sword out."

"**I'm sorry; I didn't think she would be right here."**

The Chimera stood slowly, as if sizing Percy up before she pounced. When she fully emerged from the cave, Percy got a good look at her. She had the head and body of a lion with a second head that looked like some kind of evil goat. She also had a tail, but it was made of what looked to be a snake, the snake's head was at the end, and it too was looking at Percy.

For something so terrifying, Percy couldn't deny she was beautiful, in a horrific sort of way.

She continued to approach, her hair standing on end.

"So how do we kill this thing?" Percy asked as he back away and drew his sword.

"**Well… In the legend, Bellerphon stuck a piece of lead in her mouth and when she breathed fire it melted into her stomach and killed her."**

"She breathes fire?!"

Though Percy would have found out for himself first hand anyway as the Chimera drew a breath and a stream of flames shot out from her open maw.

Percy tried to jump back, but the cliff dropped off behind him, so instead he ended up tumbling off the side.

When he finally stopped rolling down the hill he jumped back on his feet just as the Chimera pounced. He dodged her and ran, not knowing what else to do.

"**Well at least you dodged the flames."**

"Stop laughing at me and tell me how to kill her!" He said quickly as he dodged another torrent of flames. "Where am I going to find something to melt down her throat? Are you sure you can't just stab her?"

"**Her skin is too tough, not even Riptide would be able to break through it. Why can't you use that ability from before and steal all her water?"**

Percy slid down the hill to avoid another blow. "I can't, it takes too much energy, and she's bigger than the Minotaur, it might kill me before it works."

Nico didn't look impressed.

"**I wish you would have told me that, Perseus. I was counting on you being able to do it. That's why I didn't tell you to bring any lead."**

"Well I'll remember to let you know next time, but what do we do until then?" Percy turned and jabbed at the Chimera's head with Riptide.

The sword bounced harmlessly off her skin and Percy started running again.

He needed to think of something.

He glanced around as he continued to run, looking for something, or anything that could help him kill the Chimera. But all that was available were rocks and dust, there wasn't a hint of metal in sight, and there was no way he was going to melt Riptide down.

"Nico, you're the earth expert, what happens to rocks when they're heated up?"

The Chimera blew another wave of fire at him, and he dodged behind a larger rock. The rock heated quickly and turned bright red.

"**Well like you're seeing now, it just turns red. Some of them melt and some of them explode."**

"Explode?"

"**Yes, but that only happens when they're cooled down quickly."**

"Like with water?"

The Chimera jumped over the rock and landed in front of them, her claws kneading into the ground below her.

Percy searched for water, anything that he could find. The closest source he could sense was under the earth itself. It would take a few minutes for him to draw it, but it would give him plenty of time to find a rock big enough to fit the Chimera's mouth.

He rolled sideways as the Chimera lunged at him again and continued sliding down the mountain side, drawing the water to him.

There were tons of rocks all around, but he needed one that he could lift and shove into her mouth. His eyes spotted the perfect one and he ran for it, the Chimera sprinting behind him.

He grabbed the rock and pulled it from the ground.

The Chimera opened her mouth to engulf him in flames just as he turned around and shoved it in between the jaws of the lion head. He pulled his hands back, accidently slicing his right arm open on one of her sharp fangs. But he ignored the pain and backed away from her as far as he could.

The Chimera struggled to get the rock out. She must have remembered her experience from the last time she was killed because she didn't immediately breathe flames again.

For a moment, Percy didn't believe his plan was going to work, but then her anger gave way to fear and she let out a huge bellow of flames, turning the rock red hot.

"Now!"

Percy sent a stream of water out of the ground, hitting her directly in the face. He had just enough time to fling himself behind another rock before there was a huge explosion.

His ears started ringing; he didn't expect it to be so loud, so he hadn't bothered to cover his ears.

Nico appeared in front of him, smiling and saying something, but Percy had to motion to his head.

"I can't hear right now, give me a sec."

He peeked his head over the rock, not surprised to see the Chimera lying on the ground. He couldn't see the lion face from where he was, but he had no doubt that it wasn't pretty.

Percy shook his head and pulled Nico's sword from out from where it was secured at his waist. As he approached the Chimera's body it finally turned to dust.

The dust gathered around the stygian blade, turning it white hot once again before fading away.

"Well, for as fucked as we were before, it didn't turn out too bad."

He couldn't make out whatever Nico was saying. "What?"

Nico scowled at him and then grabbed him, feeling more solid than ever.

Percy allowed himself to be pulled into the ghost still freezing arms, letting out a content sigh as he felt cold lips kiss their way down his neck.

It still felt like if he pushed too hard, he would fall right through Nico's form, but it more solid than before. That was good; it meant Nico was getting better.

He continued to lean against Nico, letting his body relax until the ringing in his ears died down.

"**You're bleeding again, Perseus."**

He felt a cold finger trial down his injured arm.

"Well at least I'm not missing the arm." Percy mumbled. He was tired now that the adrenalin was wearing off. A hot shower and a warm bed sounded exactly like what he needed right now.

He pulled away from Nico and strapped the sword back on his belt. "Come on, it's dark and I want to go to sleep. Do you think you can find the car again?"

Nico smirked.

"**You don't have a good sense of direction, do you?"**

"Not on land I don't." He shooed Nico away, following after him when the ghost started moving back up the hill.

He watched Nico move silently in front of him, his eyes continually being drawn lower, as much as he tried to look elsewhere.

Why did Nico always have to wear tight pants?

"**Stop looking at my ass, Perseus."**


	6. Interrogation

Nothing much happens in this chapter. Just some fluff.

A lot of fluff actually...

* * *

Percy groaned into his pillow, determined to not wake up.

He wasn't sure how long he had been sleeping, but from the way his body felt like shit, he guessed no less than two days.

His barely conscious mind was aware of the cold spot next to him. Nico was no doubt watching him while he slept again. Somewhere in his brain he thought that was creepy, but he really didn't want to think about it too hard.

The poor guy didn't have anything else to do, so he didn't blame him.

Percy rolled over, turning his back to the cold and tried to drift off again.

As always, his dreams were more like nightmares. Many images flashed in front of him. Some he had seen before, and some he didn't recognize.

His first game of Capture the Flag when his dad claimed him. Grover in a ridiculous dress, talking sweetly to a Cyclops. Annabeth and her steal gray eyes burning intensely at him. The first time he saw Nico. Hades standing over him, looking smug. Nico's face, terrified and crying.

He must have made some kind of noise, because he briefly woke up when he was nudged gently.

He grumbled out a curse and squeezed his eyes shut. Nico's new ability to touch things was becoming bothersome.

Percy was just about gone again when he felt cold fingers work their way under his shirt and trailed down his back.

His flesh broke out in uncomfortable goose bumps and he whined, trying to move away from Nico's freezing fingers.

The ghost was relentless though, he continued assaulting him, his fingers moving from his back to his stomach to trace over his muscles.

"Fnk aaahhh." Percy finally managed to say sleepily.

Which translated to fuck off.

He heard Nico chuckle behind him and the fingers withdrew from the battle. Percy sighed in relief, thinking that Nico had gone off to haunt someone else for a while.

How wrong he was.

He yelped as he was grabbed and turned on his back. A cold weight settled on top of him, not as heavy as a body should have been, but it was still solid.

Percy pried open his eyes and glared up at Nico who was looking pleased with himself. "Seriously?"

Nico shrugged and leaned down to kiss him, his teeth nipping at his lips, asking very politely for permission to enter.

Percy froze, not sure what to do, but with a few more coaxing nips and licks, he finally opened his mouth and submitted to the ghost.

Nico made a happy noise at the back of his throat and he deepened the kiss, his cold tongue exploring every part of Percy's mouth. He kissed the Sea Prince lazily, allowing Percy to get use to the feeling, since it was probably a weird feeling to be kissing a ghost.

When he sensed Percy needed air, he pulled away and continued kissing down his neck. He couldn't quite use enough pressure to mark the Son of Poseidon, but he swore to change that as soon as he was alive again.

"**You've been asleep for three days."**

Percy sighed and made some kind of affirmative noise that quickly turned into a moan when Nico found a particularly sensitive spot on his neck.

Nico stopped and leaned above him. He smirked when he saw how debauched Percy looked, all red lipped and panting, looking at him expectantly to continue.

"**You should get up and get something to eat, you'll feel better."**

"Can't we stay here a bit longer?" Percy asked him, his eyes already closing again. He reached up and tried to pull Nico down for another kiss, but he used too much force and his hand fell through him. He glared at his hand, cursing at it in his head.

"**You're awful needy, Perseus. Maybe this is a bad idea; you seem a little high maintenance for me."**

Percy snorted at him. "I'm high maintenance? How about you? How much hair product did you go through a week when you were alive?"

Nico frowned and reached up to play with a strand of his transparent hair.

"**Let's not venture down that road yet."**

"I thought so." Percy laughed at him before turning on his side again, almost rolling off the bed.

Nico's cold presence quickly pressed itself against his back, and Percy didn't have to be a genius to know that he was being spooned. He looked over his shoulder, giving Nico a weird look. "You know, you've been an amazing cuddle buddy lately. I kind of miss how bitchy you were being."

"**The guy I was in love with for years ignored my feelings, and then I ran away and got over him. And then I come back and find out he was crushing on me the whole time. Give me a break, I'm feeling pretty good right now, Perseus."**

Percy scowled, turning his head to hide the blush on his cheeks. "I wasn't…crushing on you."

"**Sure, and that's why you freaked out at Jason when he tried to mention something about me and you."**

Percy sat up so he could look at Nico. "Jason is an ass! He just makes assumptions!" But with his face red, Nico knew that he had won.

"**Oh, Perseus. You amuse me."**

"Fuck off," Percy said grumpily before lying back down and curling into a ball to keep warm. Nico was stealing all his body heat.

But after all the kissing and their embarrassing conversation, Percy couldn't make himself go back to sleep. It didn't help that Nico had returned to kissing him, this time on the back of his neck.

Nico was cold, and the contact with him made him shiver, but he tilted his head down anyway, giving the ghost more access to his neck. He could practically feel Nico's smirk against his skin.

He was still having trouble getting used to the whole idea of being with a guy. It was strange, but not a bad strange. He felt more relaxed, and he was completely fine with giving Nico control.

Percy turned his head and Nico met him, kissing him like before.

Percy felt his heart flutter nervously in his chest. It was so weird to have someone so interested in just lying there and kissing him. He turned around to get more comfortable and gave Nico the lead, curious to see where he would take them.

So far the ghost hadn't gone much pass kissing and a few touches here and there. Percy knew nothing much beside that could happen anyway with Nico not being alive and all.

Nico seemed to read his thoughts, his hand slipping back under Percy's ruffled shirt and slowly tracing upward.

He didn't really see why Nico was so interested in his stomach. The man obviously had muscles of his own, it's not like they were new. And he didn't even have breasts like a woman; it was just weird for Nico to be touching him there for no—

"Gah! Fuck!"

Nico startled so bad at Percy's violent outburst that he lost control and turned to mist again.

"**Are you okay?"**

Percy rubbed at his chest, trying to create any amount of friction. "Can you please refrain from touching my nipples with your frozen fingers?"

Nico looked down at his hand. He must have forgotten how cold he felt to Percy.

"**Oops."**

Percy shook his head and climbed out of the bed. "I'm going to take a shower; I have to warm up. I'll be back in a few." He grabbed some clean clothes out of his bag and left the room.

Nico watched him go, deciding not to follow him. Percy valued his shower time, and he didn't want to intrude.

A few-minute shower turned into a forty-five minute one as Percy washed away the rest of his injuries and exhaustion. Eventually he turned the water off and poked his head out of the shower, making sure the coast was clear. He was growing more comfortable around Nico, but he still wasn't _that _comfortable yet.

He dried off and got dressed, trying to maneuver around in the tiny hotel bathroom. His dad gave him an unlimited mortal credit card; he really needed to get a higher class hotel next time. The small dirty motel rooms were starting to gross him out.

When he exited the bathroom, he was surprised to see Nico sitting on the bed. His eyes were closed like he was in deep thought.

Percy walked pass him and went back over to his bag to put his dirty clothes away. He really needed to do laundry.

A growl from his stomach almost made him jump.

And he really needed to eat.

A cold pressure on his back told him Nico was leaning on him.

"**Take me out on a date."**

Percy turned to give him a confused look, "a date? You want to go on a date? How very…normal of you."

"**You need to eat, and we have to decide where to go next."**

"Fair enough," Percy said as he dug his card out of his bag and grabbed Nico's sword off the table. He tied the blade securely to his belt, "let's get going then. I'm starving."

"**I know a place nearby here. I ate there once with Dad."**

Percy was glad Nico was in front of him and he didn't see his shocked expression. "Your dad, he just hung out with you?" He left the room and locked the door behind him.

"**Doesn't your dad?"**

"Not really," Percy said, trying not to feel disappointed. But then again, he never saw Jason hanging around with his father. So at least he wasn't the only one.

Nico took the lead.

"**Dad and I were close. He was even planning to make me a god so I could rule alongside him."**

Once again Percy was shocked. He couldn't picture Hades as a loving father, but it did explain Nico's weird behavior. The different way he talked, like he was better than everyone else. The way he held his head up whenever he spoke. That malicious glint in his eyes that Percy would catch every now and then.

Nico had been spending way too much time down in the underworld with Hades. Percy was once again starting to doubt his situation with the Ghost King.

What would stop him from running back to the underworld when he was revived? And Percy sure as hell wasn't going to live down in that horrible place.

Nico stopped moving and hovered in front of him, staring him down.

"**Perseus, what are you thinking about?"**

Percy shook his head, "I'm just thinking about how hungry I am. And how being in Turkey really makes me want turkey."

Nico pretended to smile, but Percy could tell it wasn't sincere, it didn't reach his eyes.

"**Fine, keep your secrets. In the meantime, let's go find you a meal."**

Nico took him all through the busy city of Antalya, making sure to take the long way so he could show him the sights.

Nico, it turned out, was a very resourceful person when it came to cites in Europe. Percy had the feeling that he had spent more than a few lunch breaks there with his dad.

It was almost noon by the time they finally made it to a small Bistro in one of the quieter areas of the city. Percy sat down with a groan, his mouth watering at all the smells wafting through the room. He wanted to try it all.

Someone came over to take his order and Percy pointed to random things on the menu. He had no idea what the guy was saying, and he really didn't care what he ordered, as long as it was hot and filling. The man looked pleased, no doubt by the amount of food Percy had purchased, and he left to place the order.

Nico pulled the chair on the other side of the table just enough that he could sit down without it looking suspicious. He didn't need to sit in the chair, but he wanted the illusion to be there.

"**I would ask if you're able to eat all that, but I know from experience that you can."**

Percy smirked, "You have no idea. The more my power grows, the more I can eat." He fiddled with a napkin, "so…you sure know a lot about this place."

Nico smirked.

"**If you think I know a lot about Turkey, we should go to Italy sometime. I'm originally from there and I still remember a lot. I can even woo you with Italian words."**

The guy who took Percy's order came back with a glass of water, and Percy thanked him and waited for him to leave before asking, "Do I have to be in Italy to hear to woo me with Italian?"

"**Vi sono adorabile."**

Percy paused and narrowed his eyes. He wasn't sure if he had been insulted or not. "Did you just call me fat?"

Nico actually laughed at that.

"**No, I wouldn't do that, Perseus."**

"I don't believe you," Percy said smiling. "So moving away from how fat you think I am, where do you think our next destination is?"

"**I think we have to go back to the motherland."**

Percy nodded, already expecting that. "Greece? I thought we would have to eventually. Good thing it's not too far from us."

He stopped when he noticed a couple sitting at the next over staring at him. He looked at them until they turned away and went back to whatever they were talking about.

Great, now everyone in the restaurant was going to think he was crazy.

"Do you have any idea what we'd be going up against?" He asked keeping his voice quieter this time.

"**I'm not sure. Dad had a lot of favourite monsters. The other two were obvious because of where they were, but this one is difficult."**

"So be prepared for anything is what you're saying?"

"**Basically. And make sure you can do that water trick of yours. It's the easiest way to deal with these monsters, Perseus."**

Percy flinched. "I don't know about that…" He didn't want to tell Nico the real reason why he wasn't using that particular ability. It was a horrible thing to experience. The feeling of draining someone's life force. Feeling their blood stop in their veins.

It creeped him out, and frankly, it bothered him more than he liked to admit.

It was fun when he was draining the liquid from plants, but doing it to something that was living wasn't the same.

Well plants were living too, but they didn't have hearts that Percy could feel slowly stopping...

Nico seemed to notice how uncomfortable Percy had become, so he changed the subject.

"**So what exactly did you do while I was gone for all those years? You seemed pretty chummy with Jason."**

Percy was about to answer, but thankfully his food arrived at that moment, giving him enough time to think of something to say.

He thanked the guy and dug in, almost crying at how delicious it was, He wasn't even sure what he was eating, but it was good.

Nico stared at him, waiting for an answer to his question. His eyes were so focused on him he could feel a blush working its way to his cheeks.

"If you're jealous or something, don't be. Piper has Jason wrapped around her finger. We were just best friends who run the camp together. And he's helped me out of some dangerous situations in the past, so yeah, we're pals."

The Ghost King didn't look convinced.

"**Greeks were famous for their orgies."**

Percy spit his food out.

The same couple from before were looking at him again.

He waved and smiled and they quickly got up and left.

Percy turned back to Nico, "Jeez, Neeks. Blunt much?"

Nico ignored him.

"**Did you think about me much? You must have for Jason to be making comments about it."**

"Yeah, well we all wondered where you went. And Hazel was loyal to the end, she didn't say a word." Percy deemed it safe to eat again, and he took another bite.

It was starting to feel less like a date and more like an interrogation.

"What about you? What were you doing all those years? Serving Hades?"

Nico nodded slowly, he appeared to be choosing his words carefully.

"**I ran errands for him, and went on quests. I had to prove I was good enough to be allowed to rule at his side."**

Percy moved on to the next dish. "So if things were going so well, why did you end up in Tartarus? I mean, I know why you went down there, but wouldn't Hades have said something to stop you?"

"**He was the one who suggested it to me. It was one final test I had to pass, and I failed. I'm not even sure why he's going through all the trouble of bringing me back."**

Percy tried to bite back a bitter comment like 'because he obviously loved you, moron' but he couldn't bring himself to do it.

Even if he wished his father would show him the same amount of attention, he had come to realize that the God of the Sea probably had better things to do other than raise his Demi-God son. Or talk to him for that matter.

"Maybe Hades believes in second chances?"

Nico didn't look convinced by these words. In fact, he looked bothered by them.

"**Let's hope not."**

Percy stayed quiet for the rest of his meal. As soon as he was finished he paid and left the small restaurant to venture into the busy streets once again.

By then the sun was at its full strength, and Percy who usually loved warm weather, found it extremely warm.

He held out his hand for Nico, waiting for him to take it.

Nico looked surprised by the gesture but he took his hand anyway, and they walked back to the hotel.

Percy made sure to keep his hand down by his side so people didn't question his awkward way of walking.

Once they were back in their room and the door was closed, Nico had him pinned to the nearest wall and was ravishing his mouth once again.

Percy held onto him as tightly as he dared, scared that if he wasn't careful, Nico would turn into his mist form again and ruin the moment. He moaned loudly as Nico's hands wandered down and grabbed onto his ass roughly.

Nope, he definitely didn't want to ruin the moment.

Nico moved away from his mouth to latch onto his ear with his teeth and Percy let out a pathetic whimper he didn't know he was capable of.

Nico's breath was cold on his ear.

"**Perseus."**

And then Nico was kissing down his neck again in a way that was turning his legs into jelly.

If this was the way Nico responded to dates, he vowed to take him out more often.


	7. Something to do with an Anteater

Sorry for the Delay. Spider-Man 2 came out and then it was free comic book day. I was super busy!

* * *

The return to Athens went relatively quickly and without much interruption. There were no monster attacks on the way and Percy was very grateful. He wasn't sure if he could take on a Manticore in his condition.

His nightmares were getting worse.

Images of him dying, of Nico dying or his friends dying made him wake up in a cold sweat. He wasn't sure why he kept seeing so much death, because normally his dreams were pretty straight forward. They usually gave him a glimpse into the future or present, which didn't bode well seeing as they usually came true.

Nico always woke him up when he started thrashing in his sleep, and Percy was thankful that he did. He still hadn't told the Ghost King what his dreams had been about, but he was sure Nico could guess at this point.

Tartarus did stuff like that to you, he was sure that when Nico had been alive he had awful dreams too. That's what you get for falling into the pit of hell.

They were both pretty quiet on the drive back since Percy was tired. But he opted to drive the twenty one hours straight through to Athens. It not like he was going to get any sleep anyway.

And while Percy worried about his dreams, Nico worried about the next monster they had to fight.

"**I can't think of any monsters my dad would have sent to Greece. I mean, I know there are thousands of monsters, but he's been following a pattern up until now, so I don't think he'll venture far from it."**

"Yeah," Percy said as he thought back to what they had faced so far. "The Minotaur was denial and isolation, and the Chimera was anger." He pulled the car into the hotel's driveway and parked it at the front door.

"**Which means that if we're following the Kübler-Ross's 'five stages of grief theory', bargaining is next on the list; the problem lies with figuring out which monster would represent it."**

Nico stopped talking when he realized where they were.

"**Really? The Athenaeum InterContinental** **hotel? Are you sure you can afford this?"**

Percy laughed as he got out of the car and handed his keys to the valet. "I can't, but my dad can," he said quietly when the valet had his back turned.

Percy booked one of the most expensive rooms in the hotel while everyone stared at him in confusion. He supposed he didn't look like the poster boy for 'rich bastards monthly' but he didn't care. As long as the room had a huge tub that he could sleep in for a few hours, they could look at him however they wanted.

He was shown to his room by one of the hotel workers, and he thanked them and tipped them before finally getting behind closed doors.

The room was grand, and Percy thought it was a nice change from all the others he had stayed at. It was nice to be spoiled every once in a while.

He was no expert in design, but he had to admit, the room looked very fancy. Maybe a little gaudy with all its mixes of colors, but it still found a way to work. And unlike the other places he had stayed, it was huge. It had a main room and another room leading into the bedroom where he hoped he would find a massive bathroom connected so he could finally get a hot bath.

He threw his bag on the pristinely clean couch and untied Nico's sword from his belt, setting it neatly beside his bag.

He wasn't sure where the ghost had run off to, but he didn't have to go far to find out.

Nico had already made himself comfy on the luxurious bed. He didn't even look up when Percy came in, his mind probably preoccupied in his thoughts.

Percy jumped onto the bed and crawled over to the ghost. "Hey," he said, waving his hand to get Nico's attention. When Nico still didn't move, he put his hand on Nico's cold body to check if he was solid first before leaning up to brush his lips against cold ones.

That seemed to get Nico's attention. He tugged the Sea Prince closer and kissed him until he was breathless.

When he pulled away, Percy laughed nervously. "So that got your attention."

Nico was still giving him a hungry look, but the ghost pushed it aside so they could talk strategy.

"**I'm still thinking."**

Percy nodded his head. He wasn't sure where or what the monster was, but he knew he would face them and kill them either way. He thought it was adorable that Nico had to plan and think about everything. The specter looked to be the type who didn't like to be caught off guard.

"Well, if you have any ideas, share them with me. I've been going over in my mind all of the monsters I know about or have fought and I can't think of anything that fits the description of 'bargaining'."

Nico turned from him and glared at a spot on the bed.

Percy continued. "Your dad likes the dark humor, doesn't he? Making us kill monsters that fit into each category of the stages of grief thing. You think he came up with that on his own?"

This time Nico's lips curled up into a smile.

"**He's probably down in the underworld giggling and patting himself on the back."**

Percy couldn't exactly picture a giggling Hades, but the thought alone was funny. "I'm going to take a nap and then we'll use your 'soul location ability' to find this monster. Don't stress out about it too much, Neeks. Whatever it is, I'm sure I can kill it, if you haven't noticed I'm pretty strong."

Just to emphasise his point, he pulled back his shirt sleeve and flexed his arm.

Nico rolled his eyes but he was still smirking.

"**Yes, Perseus. We all know how amazing you are."**

Percy laughed, not at all upset by the sarcasm in Nico's voice. He left the bedroom and called the desk for room service.

The man who came to the door was the same one who showed him to his room. Percy quickly explained that he needed his clothes washed and he handed him his bad full of dirty laundry. He tipped him extra to bring it back to his room when it was clean.

Now looking forward to a hot bath and clean clothes, Percy practically bounced his way into the bathroom, giving Nico one last wave before closing the door.

The tub was spectacular, it was big enough to hold six people comfortably and deep enough that if Percy stood upright in the middle, the water would come up to his chest.

Perfect.

He started filling the tub with hot water and jumped in. He held his head under the water and waited until it was filled to the top then he turned off the water. He allowed himself to sink to the bottom and hovered there. He closed his eyes and drifted off into a peaceful sleep for the first time in a long time.

He wasn't sure how long he slept, but when he woke up the water was cold. He stood up and drained the tub.

He didn't have any clean clothes to change into, so he had to wrap a towel around himself so he could go looking for the clothes that the hotel staff member had hopefully cleaned.

Percy opened the door and jumped when he saw Nico standing right in front of it.

"Jeez, Neeks. I know you're a ghost and all, but give a guy some warning."

Nico smirked at him and continued to stand in his way. So Percy was forced to stand there awkwardly with only a towel on.

"Um, can I go find my clothes?"

Nico's smirk widened and he shrugged.

"**You can walk through me you know."**

Percy narrowed his eyes at him. He didn't trust Nico when he smirked like that. "Did you hide my clothes?"

"**No…"**

Percy walked through him and went into the main room; his clothes were sitting by his bag on the couch.

So maybe the Ghost King didn't hide them.

"**You don't trust me, Perseus?"**

"I do, I just don't trust that you're bored with nothing to do." He said. He picked up his clothes and turned to look at Nico who was still standing in the doorway smiling at him.

"Turn around at least, you dirty pervert."

"**I'm not looking at you; I'm looking out the window behind you. Athens sure looks beautiful all lit up in the darkness."**

But Nico's eyes were anywhere but the window.

Percy felt his face flush as Nico's eyes traveled slowly down his body.

"I'm getting changed in the closet then." He grabbed a pair of his jeans and boxers and a camp T-shirt and locked himself into the spacious closet near the front door.

Nico stayed on the other side of the door, but continued talking to him.

"**Come on, Perseus. Get out of the closet, everyone knows."**

"Not cool, Neeks."

* * *

Athens, Percy decided, was beautiful at night.

It must have been the way the lights were hitting the buildings, but it was magical. Or it could have just been the fact that he felt like he was home here. There was something about Greece and all the other places he had been too, it felt like he had been missing this piece of himself all his life, and he didn't find it again until he came back.

He had no doubt it had something to do with his Demi-God blood. And if it wasn't so dangerous to live there, he might have considered moving back after everything was done and over with.

Nico led them through the city, he seemed to know exactly where he was going, but that might be due to him sensing where his soul was.

Nico's sword was heavy at his hip. He couldn't wait for the ghost to come back to life so he could take the damn thing. It was obviously not meant for a Son of Poseidon.

"**Damn it."**

Percy stopped before he walked right through him. "What's up? You can't find it?"

"**I can find it, but it keeps moving… every time we get close and were about to cut it off, I don't see anything."**

Percy looked down at the ground. "Is it under the city then? The sewer would probably be a good place for a monster to hide out."

Nico didn't look too pleased at the thought of having to go down underground; which Percy thought was strange since he _was_ a Son of Hades.

"Why are you making that face?"

Nico shook his head and floated over to the nearest manhole.

"**It's nothing; I just hate having to put you in danger like this. A sewer is hardly the place for a battle, there's not enough room, and if it's unstable, the whole thing could come crashing down on you."**

Percy felt touched and a bit surprised at Nico's concern. But if Nico had been concerned the whole time, it would explain half of why he was always so grouchy.

"I'm sure I can handle it, Nico. You've seen me come out of worse situations, all without the Curse of Achilles." He bent down and grabbed onto the edges of the sewer cover. With a groan he picked the heavy piece of metal up just high enough to slide it out of the way.

The smell was horrible of course, but Percy bit his tongue and started climbing down the ladder into the darkness, Nico floating in the air beside him.

It was much deeper than Percy expected and it was pitch black. Once he was safely on the ground, he drew Riptide and squinted his eyes, trying to see ahead of him with the limited light.

"**This way."**

Nico moved ahead of him and in his ghost form he gave off a small amount of light making it easier to follow him.

Percy tried his best to keep up, but Nico was moving forward at a determined pace, and he had to stop to catch himself from falling over into the polluted water.

"Neeks!" Percy called out, hoping it would stop the ghost or at least slow him down.

Nico stopped abruptly and held his hand to silence him.

He was about to ask him what was wrong, when he heard it. A woman was wailing pitifully in the distance, her shrill voice echoing off the walls.

"_Ohhhh….! Oh if only….!"_

Percy felt a shiver go down his spine. This didn't sound like a typical monster, if anything she sounded like a mother who had lost her children.

Nico started drifting away again and Percy tried his best to silently keep up.

As they continued to walk through the twisting and narrow sewer, the voice grew louder and shriller.

"_Ohhhhhh…! If only I could have saved them…! I could have hid them away…!"_

"**I think I know who it is."**

Nico said quietly.

"Please tell me I don't have to kill some depressed ancient Greek queen or something." Percy said back to him. Monsters he could handle, he could kill them because they tried to kill him. He didn't ever think about it being sad because he knew there was a chance that the monster would come back from Tartarus and kill a less skilled Demi-God.

But a crying woman?

Percy didn't want to think about it.

"**I think you've met her before actually."**

Percy tried to think back to all the monsters he had faced. He couldn't remember any of them sounding like this woman.

"**We just killed one of her children."**

"The Chimera?" He couldn't recall what the mother of the Chimera looked like. That was until he remembered something about a Chihuahua and a tower.

And falling to his supposed death.

"That woman? The anteater?"

Nico stopped and turned to give him a weird look.

"**Anteater? What are you talking about?"**

Percy felt like an idiot. He was so stupid when he was a kid. "I can't remember her name; all I know is that her name had something to do with an anteater."

Nico raised an eyebrow.

"**Echidna?"**

"Yes, and shut up."

Nico smiled, but he didn't say anything.

They continued for what felt like hours. Echidna must have been wandering around faster than they were able to get to her, because Nico kept cursing under his breath every time she managed to slip away.

All the while her sobs continued to echo off the walls, making Percy doubt whether or not he was going to be able to kill her.

"_My babies…! If only I had hid you away…!"_

Then finally, just when Percy was about to call it quits for the night, the sound of something slithering close by caught his attention.

It was followed by a loud cry, and Percy actually jumped in the air.

She had been closer than expected.

"Where are you, Half-blood? I smell you! Have you come to finish me off like you did my precious children?"

She came slithering around the corner and moved close enough so that Percy could just make out her image in the dark.

She had changed from the last time he saw her. She abandoned her human form completely and taken the form of a monster. From above her waist she looked like a normal albeit naked woman with long flowing black hair. But from the waist down she had a serpent's tail.

Her black eyes glared down at him. "What do you want…Percy Jackson?"

But before Percy could answer her, she wailed again and took off down the tunnel.

He raced after her, almost running into a wall. The sun must have been coming out above them, every so often they would pass by a grate and the sun would almost blind him.

He followed her until she came to a complete stop at a dead end.

She could have escaped the sewer from the manhole that was shining light down from above, but she would have been more at risk out on the streets.

Cornered, she lashed out at him with her tail and he had to quickly dodge it to avoid being hit and thrown into a wall.

"I will kill you and take revenge for my children!" She hissed, her eyes burning with fury. "If only I had killed you before, my babies may have been spared your blade!" She swung her tail at him again, cursing him when he somehow managed to dodge it.

Percy still didn't feel right about killing her, but Nico was looking at him with that same grumpy/worried expression, and he knew he had to finish her off. It was for the best, if she went back to Tartarus she would be with her children.

Or that's what he kept telling himself.

Quicker than her eyes could follow, he ran up her tail, trying to reach her before she could attack. The light shining from the holes in the ceiling made it easier to see, but didn't blind him after all the time he had spent down in the dark.

She flicked her tail and Percy was surprised to feel how much force was behind it. He called the water to him from the sewer to keep from smashing into the wall, a blow that would have probably knocked him out.

Nico was beside him as soon as he was back on his feet.

"**Just use your powers, it will make it easier."**

He shook his head. "I got this, just stay back." He ran through Nico's form and went right for Echidna who was swinging her tail around for another attack.

Using the water as a shield, he blocked the blow. Water exploded in every direction, soaking the wall and Echidna.

Percy didn't let her move her tail again, he used the water to hold it in place, like a hand gripping a handlebar.

She screamed and thrashed, hitting the water with her hands to break free, but it was no use. When she saw Percy coming for her, she pulled her fist back and tried to punch him or hit him away. But every blow she tried to land just met water as the Sea Prince danced out of the way.

Finally he got a grip on her wrists with the water, she struggled and spat, cursing him and swearing revenge.

"I'm sorry."

She didn't even have time to blink before Riptide pierced through her heart. Her body turned into stone before exploding into gold dust.

Percy watched solemnly as the dust gathered and made its way to Nico's sword at his side. He clicked Riptide into a pen and placed it back into his pocket. "I'm glad that's over with." He turned around to look for Nico and found the ghost leaning against the wall on the other side of the room.

He jogged over and stopped in front of him. "So…do you feel any better?"

Nico shrugged, a smirk working its way onto his mouth.

"**Not really, we might have to test it out."**

Percy back away and held his hands up, "Oh hell no. You're not coming anywhere near me, I smell like… sewer and stuff."

"**I don't have a sense of smell right now."**

"Don't care, stay away from me."

And before Nico could move to touch him, he ran for the ladder that led out of the sewer.

Nico smiled and shook his head, vowing to get Percy after.

Thankfully the exit that they had chosen was located on a quiet street, and the only ones that saw him climb out where a couple of pigeons that took off into the sky.

He kicked the cover back on and started running for the nearest source of water. There was no way he would be allowed back in his hotel looking like he did. They would probably ban him or something.

He managed to find an empty home using his powers to make sure no one was around. He jumped in the shower, not even bothering to take his shoes off and used the water to rinse all the grime off.

As soon as he deemed himself clean, he stepped out of the shower and left the home completely dry and clean.

"**I didn't take you for the breaking into homes type."**

Percy smiled, "you got to do what you got to do."

It was an hour long walk back to their hotel, and now that the people of Athens were out and about, it was a lot more crowded.

As the smells of cooked meals started to fill the air, Percy's mouth began to water. He turned back to look at Nico who looked uncomfortable. "Hey, do you mind if I stop to get something to eat?"

Nico shrugged.

"**Do what you want. I'm simply following."**

Percy sighed at the ghost's behavior and reached over to grab his hand. "Come on, you can consider it another date if you want."

That seemed to make Nico a bit happier, and he followed along, his cold fingers entwining with Percy's own.

They chose a spot that had the dining area outside, even though it was chilly out. That way it wouldn't look as weird if Percy started talking to Nico.

The waitress approached him and asked him what he wanted in perfect English. Percy smiled and placed his order, once again getting way too much food.

"You won't be disappointed," she said as she wrote down what he wanted. "Our food is the best. And I'm not just saying that."

Percy laughed; he liked the sound of that.

"And what are you having today, sir?" She said, looking at Nico.

Nico almost jumped out of his skin, he looked up at the woman confused and speechless.

Percy was about to kick him to make him talk, even though he himself was just as shocked.

But then then woman blinked and she shook her head looking as confused as they were.

She looked back at Percy and blushed, "sorry, I must be seeing things. I thought there was someone sitting there. I need to get more sleep." She laughed nervously before leaving to give his order to the cooks.

Nico watched her go before turning back to Percy.

"**What… the fuck?"**

* * *

**In regards to replying to reviews. I am so sorry if I don't get back to you, I just want everyone to know that I love you all and all your kind words!**


	8. To Feel Alive

"Well if that wasn't confirmation that you're getting better, I don't know what is." Percy said as he flopped down on the bed.

Nico looked less than amused as he lay down beside Percy and glared up at the ceiling.

"**Now I have to be careful not to be seen now. It's bothersome."**

Percy wanted to reach over and pinch his cheek, but he was sure that would just piss the Ghost King off. Nico was a man after all, not a woman, but there were things Percy had to continuously stop himself from doing. He was certain the angsty man would hate to do anything cutesy.

Besides, there was a chance his hand would go through Nico's face and Percy would be left there awkwardly pinching his brain and not his cheeks.

"_While I'm on the subject of the difference between dating a man versus a woman, what the hell do I buy him for gifts? Do guys even give each other gifts? Do I get him weapons or something? I don't think he'd like flowers…"_

"**Perseus."**

"Yeah?" Percy stopped his thinking process before his brain exploded.

"**Did you want a few days rest before we continue? Or do you want to leave right away?"**

Percy groaned as he looked around the room. It had barely been used since he got there; he wanted to at least get his monies worth.

It wasn't that he didn't have the strength to continue, but they were nowhere near the dead-line, so Percy felt safe to relax for a bit. He had never had the opportunity on any other quest before, it was always 'run for your life!' or 'you have seven days to save the world.'

So he was grateful that Hades gave him enough time to just chill.

"How about I get some sleep and we leave tomorrow morning as soon as the sun comes up?" Percy said finally after a long pregnant pause.

Nico sighed, but he didn't look upset.

"**If that's what you'd prefer."**

"Anxious to come back to life?" Percy asked him, a smile gracing his lips.

His face heated up as Nico's eye once again traveled down his body in a lewd way.

"**You have no idea, Perseus."**

Percy grumbled and rolled on his side so that his back was facing Nico. "Whatever, that will teach you for dying in the first place, stupid."

Nico chuckled darkly behind him and Percy had to work hard to keep a straight face. There was something about Nico's laugh that was becoming addictive.

He jumped as Nico pressed himself against him. He could feel the Ghost King's cold breath on his ear, sending pleasant shivers down his spine.

"**Buonanotte."**

And then Nico kissed him and it took everything Percy had inside not to moan or blush like a girl.

Okay, so his weaknesses were Nico's laugh and whenever he spoke Italian. If that was all it took to turn him into jelly, then he was going to lose all self-respect by the time Nico was revived.

But as Nico crawled on top of him and continued to kiss him desperately, leaving him breathless once again, he found himself not caring at all.

* * *

When Percy woke up much later, he was shocked to see Nico _sleeping _beside him. He had never seen the ghost truly sleep since they started out on their quest together, and Nico claimed he didn't need to anyway.

Maybe it was because they only had two more pieces of Nico's soul to collect, and that was allowing him to finally get some rest. But Percy wasn't sure; he was definitely not an expert on ghosts and revival.

Nico's form was still glowing much like a ghost, and when Percy tried to touch him, his hand went right through. So Nico wasn't solid while he slept, very interesting.

He gave up on touching him and settled for watching. He needed to repay the man for all the times he had watched Percy while he was sleeping.

Percy felt like a creep, but he had to admit, watching Nico was very amusing, especially when his nose scrunched up in an adorable manner.

That meant he was probably dreaming too.

Percy stretched and then rolled out of bed, deciding to get a shower while he left Nico to sleep.

He spent the next hour getting washed and dressed and had even managed to order an extra early breakfast (since it was only like six in the morning) and get half way through it when Nico finally emerged from the room looking still half asleep.

"**Did I… fall asleep?"**

Percy saluted him with a piece of pancake. "You sure did. I had to get up and leave, did you know you snore?"

Nico narrowed his eyes at him.

"**Not possible."**

Percy just laughed and continued his breakfast while Nico circled around him.

"**Do you still eat blue food?"**

Percy stopped mid chew. He never expected Nico to catch on to something like that. "Um, yeah, I do every once in a while when I go see my mom. But every time I try to do it myself, it just turns out fucked."

Nico hummed quietly and pulled out the chair next to him at the table and sat down.

"**Did Annabeth ever make you blue food?"**

Percy almost inhaled his pancake.

"That's none of your business," he said grumpily. "You need to stop asking about Annabeth, we have nothing between us anymore."

"**I know how to make blue pancakes."**

Percy turned to look at him but Nico's attention was drawn to the ceiling so he didn't have to look at Percy.

"That's…" Percy shoved another piece of pancake in his mouth to stall momentarily. He knew he was blushing; Nico seemed to have that effect on him. "She… said I was childish and that I didn't need to put blue coloring in my food."

Nico finally turned his attention away from the ceiling and fixed his gaze on the Sea Prince.

"**That's a shame, Perseus. Your childish nature is one of the things I love most about you. You're not as weighed down by things like people normally would be."**

Percy wanted to crawl under the table and hide. No one in his entire life (beside his mother but she didn't count because she was just as crazy as him) had ever said anything like that. Usually people rolled their eyes at him when he was acting childish, and even Jason had made fun of him a few times.

He knew his friends meant no harm, but it was hard to be taken as a fool just because he's rather laugh at a problem than get frustrated.

"I love the way your nose scrunches up when you sleep," he suddenly blurted out.

Nico smirked and raised an eyebrow.

This time Percy did smack himself in the face and he left the table. He couldn't handle being around the Ghost King. They were getting way too close to the 'feelings' talk, and he wasn't quite ready for it yet.

And as much as he wanted to trust Nico, he still couldn't stop thinking that something bad was going to happen before this was all over.

Percy packed up his things while Nico followed him around silently. He was glad the spirit didn't say anything after their embarrassing talk. Percy still couldn't look him in the eye.

He made sure Nico's sword was secured to him before he left the room and went to the front lobby to check out.

The car was out front waiting for them, and they hopped inside and Percy sped out of the driveway.

"Where do we go from here, Mr. Soul Detector?" Percy asked the ghost who was still quietly sitting beside him.

"**Just go straight for now, I'm picking up on something, but it' a bit far away."**

Percy followed his directions and soon they were zooming their way toward the ocean. "Do you have any clue who the next monster is? I can't remember what the next stage is."

"**Depression. And no, I have no idea who it could be. Whoever it is, they're pretty far away."**

"Alright, just point me in the proper direction then. I'm sure they'll turn up eventually." Percy turned on the radio and found a station that was playing pop music. Not that he didn't mind the silence, but he wanted something to listen to while they tried to find whatever they were looking for.

Nico didn't look like he was enjoying the music at all. He alternated between glaring at the radio and glaring out the window.

Percy of course, noticed this and when a song with a loud beat came on, he blasted the stereo. "I love this song!" He yelled to Nico who was looking absolutely murderous.

He laughed despite the death glare and bounced in his seat, singing along loudly and horribly to the poorly written lyrics.

"**You're lucky I like you, Perseus. I hate this kind of music."**

"You won't hate it when you see me dance to it."

Annnnnnnd that sounded great.

Percy immediately wanted to smash his head off the steering wheel.

Nico didn't seem to mind though, he gave him a hungry look and Percy swallowed nervously and switched the station.

"**Will this dance require clothes?"**

Percy almost swerved off the road. "Of course it will! Stop being such a pervert!"

Nico laughed at him and leaned across the seat to kiss him on the cheek.

The ghost was going to be the death of him.

They spent the rest of the drive listening to local radio stations and discussing some tactical plans. Nico's directions eventually lead them to a dockyard facing the Mediterranean Sea.

Percy parked the car in a safe place and grabbed his bag out of the back. If the monster was across the ocean or in it, they would have to borrow a boat anyway. So for now that car had to stay and he would have to come back for it later.

It was mid-day in Athens and it must have been a weekend because there were lots of children running around and playing around the water. Many who came over to talk to Percy, they seemed to be super excited to see him, even though Percy couldn't understand anything they were saying.

Percy patted one little girl on the head and she giggled before dragging the rest of her friends off. They waved once more and Percy returned the gesture. Kids were adorable, it didn't matter how nosey they were.

Nico was looking at him weirdly again, and Percy wondered if he had done something wrong. "What's up? Do you not like kids?"

Nico looked away from him.

"**I… I do like them, but you **_**love**_** kids."**

Percy shrugged, "yeah, kids are cute; they always have something funny to say."

They fell into an awkward silence as Percy searched the place, looking for an empty boat to 'borrow.'

"**Do you ever want to have kids?"**

"Dear Gods, Nico. Are you really going to worry about that right now?" Percy couldn't deny it though, there once was a time back when he was younger. He dreamed of a big house filled with a wife and a bunch of kids that he could raise and care for. But that was so long ago now, and his duties at camp had never left him any time to think about it.

"**Just answer the question, Perseus."**

Percy sighed loudly at the ghost. If Nico was thinking about running off again because they couldn't have kids together (they hadn't even made it to relationship status yet, sheesh), he had another thing coming. "Yes I want kids, eventually. And before you get your panties in a twist, just remember there are other ways to raise kids these days."

Nico didn't look pleased with his answer.

"Di Angelo, if you even think about leaving over something so stupid, I will bring you back to life and then kill you again." Percy stomped away from him in anger, knowing that Nico would have to follow anyway.

They didn't speak again until Percy had located a small motor boat that was in a more secluded area and they had the thing out into the water. Once they were far enough from land Percy deemed it safe to talk again. "Where are we going?"

Nico was at the front of the boat with his back facing toward him.

"**Go west for now, I have a feeling it's somewhere toward Italia, but it's almost like it's… in the water."**

"That's good for me then. Are there any legends of monsters around here? I'm drawing a blank."

Nico finally turned around to face him. Apparently they weren't fighting anymore.

"**Have you ever heard of Scylla?"**

"Vaguely," Percy replied. He could remember something of the sorts from one of his earlier quests.

"**From what I've heard of the legends, Scylla use to be a nymph and Glaucus who was some God, fell in love with her, but she wanted nothing to do with him."**

"Sounds like every relationship I've ever had," Percy said, flashing Nico a grin.

Nico rolled his eyes and continued.

"**I think Glaucus went to Circe, who I'm sure you remember, and asked her for a love potion that would woo Scylla. But when Circe heard his story, she ended up falling in love with him, even though he wanted nothing to do with her."**

"And that sounds like every love triangle I've ever been in."

"**Perseus."**

Percy laughed, "Sorry, Neeks, please continue."

"**Anyway… Circe, instead of making a potion decided to make a poison instead and she poured it into the pool where Scylla bathed. When Scylla touched the water, she was transformed into the horrible beast of legend, and now she takes her anger out on sailors that try to go through the ****Strait of Messina."**

"But aren't we looking for 'depression'? That sounds more like anger to me." Percy said. He didn't doubt Nico's knowledge, but he just wanted to make sure he didn't kill some poor soul for no reason.

"**Wouldn't you be depressed if you were turned into a monster for no reason other than jealousy?"**

"True."

Percy didn't need any more directions from Nico after that point. He knew exactly where the straight was located since it was in the ocean. And with Percy's abilities they managed to make it there before the sun went down, making it much easier to see.

Percy was just grateful that he wouldn't be half blind for this battle.

"**She's below us, I can sense it."**

Percy uncapped Riptide and leaned over the boat. "Do you think she'll come up? Or will I have to go down?"

"**I don't think she's moving right now."**

"Great," Percy said as he glared at the dark water. He had gotten over his fear of drowning, but big open bodies of water still made him nervous. And usually if he was swimming he never went more than a few feet under.

But he didn't have a choice this time, so before he could get worked up about it, he jumped into the water and started swimming.

"**Hey look at that, I can still talk underwater."**

Percy almost jumped out of his skin. He forgot that Nico would have to follow him since he had his sword.

"Don't get too cocky. This is my element." Percy smiled at him brightly before gathering water behind him to push him deeper into the water.

"**Ghosts actually grow stronger around water."**

Percy scoffed at him. "Whatever, just try not to fall too far behind."

"**I'm attached to you, Perseus."**

"Yeah, yeah." Percy held Riptide in front of him just in case something attacked him. He could sense something lurking in the distance, but he couldn't pin point where it was.

"**Perseus!"**

But Percy reacted just a moment too late. Scylla wrapped her tentacles around him, immobilizing him. He tried to break fee but her grip was strong, he couldn't even move his sword to try and cut her.

"_What do we have here? A little hero that's come to play with me?"_

Percy yelped as he was brought dangerously close to her waist where five dog heads snapped hungrily at him.

But besides the tentacles and the weird belt accessory going on, she looked just like a normal woman.

Once again Percy was stuck with the thought that most of the monsters weren't given a choice or were made into what they became. It made him sad to think about it, but he could do nothing about it

"_Oh look my loves, he's a pretty one. He must be a son of the Sea God to have made it all the way down here." _She smiled at him and Percy good a good look at her serrated teeth.

"I'm afraid I can't stay, I have an important mission to finish." Percy said, and he started gathering the water around them, trying to loosen her hold on him.

He tried not to look at Nico who was giving him a worried look. It annoyed him that Nico didn't trust in his abilities, but then again, the guy had never seen him fight properly in water before.

Scylla tightened her grip on him, some of her tentacles wrapped around his throat and squeezed. But Percy continued to work the water around them, spinning around and around until it started to form a funnel shape.

Even with her powerful body, Scylla couldn't fight against the water current that was dragging her around.

"_You're powerful for a Demi-god, I'll give you that,"_ she said smiling gleefully. _"But if I bite your head off before you can work your powers, I will be the victor."_

Percy doubled his efforts and they continued to spin, faster and faster until his stomach started to turn.

She howled and lunged for him, but her hold was loose now and Percy managed to raise his arm up just before she bit a chunk out of his face.

Blood turned the water red as she bit down harder, and Percy would have screamed if his neck wasn't being strangled.

Finally they reached the surface, and Percy used all his strength to push her away from him, using the water to help. His arm was almost ripped off, but she finally let go and went flying into the air where Percy caught her with the water funnel once again.

She screamed as the funnel continued to spin into the air, taking her with it.

Percy groaned and he tried to look everywhere but at his arm. He knew if he looked he would definitely loose his breakfast.

He used the water to lift himself into the air.

She flailed helplessly and the dogs on her waist whined pathetically. _"No! Not again! Don't kill me! I'm not a monster! I just want to be left alone!"_

Percy held out his hand and stopped the funnel; instead he created a bubble of water around her.

She looked like a horrible Halloween snow globe.

"_Please! I promise!"_

Percy said nothing as he came closer to her, Riptide raised in front of him.

She bowed her head then and stopped her struggles_. "Fine, get it over with. I'm just a monster after all, I'm not worth anything."_

He wanted to tell her she was wrong, but he was scared of what Nico might think if he showed the enemy mercy.

So instead he drove Riptide through her heart, killing her as quickly and painlessly as he could.

She burst into a puff of gold dust and was drawn right into Nico's sword.

Percy let his control on the water go and he fell into the ocean.

He didn't know what was wrong with him; maybe he was becoming senile in his old age. He was starting to feel sorry for the monsters for the first time in his life. It was so much easier to just train in the camp, safe behind barriers and pretend they weren't preparing children for battle.

He stayed in the water just long enough until his arm had healed and he regained most of his energy, and by the time he surfaced, it was dark.

Nico was sitting in the boat that had somehow survived everything. He didn't pay any attention to Percy as the Sea Prince flopped into the watercraft with a groan.

Percy looked up at Nico, but the ghost's eyes were trained on the starry sky above them, and he couldn't help but look up himself and take in the beauty.

It was hard to get a view of the stars like this back home.

"Do you feel any better?" He asked Nico.

"**I'm not transparent anymore."**

Percy looked closer at him, and sure enough, the Ghost King looked more alive than dead now. He tried not to look too long, but Nico caught him and gave him a familiar smirk.

"**Like what you see, Perseus?"**

Percy shrugged, trying to look uninterested, "smug bastard." He sat up and a bright light in the distance caught his eye. "What the hell is that?"

Nico didn't even bother looking.

"**That's the last piece of my soul."**

"Oh," Percy said. "It's pretty; I was really expecting something darker. I think a black hole looming over the horizon would have been more appropriate."

Nico smacked him on the back of his head and he laughed.

"So what's in that direction?"

Nico turned and looked his voice was solemn.

"**Italy, it's home."**

Percy had expected something like that. He got up and stretched, cracking his aching back. "Well let's get this over with. The sooner we revive you, the sooner I can go back to sleeping in."

"**Who says I'll let you sleep in? There are so many things you can do in the morning."**

"Pervert."

"**Indeed."**

Percy touched the water and the boat took off toward Italy. Even though they were in high spirits, he felt like there was something off. His instincts were telling him to run in the opposite direction and get away as fast as he could. He tried to shake it off, but it was impossible.

Something bad was going to happen.

He just didn't know what.


	9. In the End

Is anyone excited for the last book coming out in October? I personally can't wait.

* * *

You would be surprised at how fast two Demi-Gods can travel when they really want to get somewhere.

Percy could barely recall the trip across the water back to Athens, his mind was so focused on what was about to happen.

This was it; they were going to get the last piece of Nico's soul.

It was a truly exciting thought for him, because as much as he loved being in Europe; he much preferred his camp back at home. Apparently it took a dangerous trip across the world with a ghost to prove that.

Nico didn't say anything until they were safely in the car.

"**Are we leaving right away? I don't care if you need to rest."**

"Naw," Percy turned the car on and sped out onto the road. "I'll have all the time in the world to sleep once we bring you back to life. I just want to get this over with and go back to camp."

Not that they had any reason to discuss what was going to happen after Nico was alive, but Percy was still nervous about what the Ghost King would do when he was revived. There was no reason for Nico to stay above ground, and Percy wouldn't be able to stop him from slinking off back to the Underworld.

"Nico?"

He could feel Nico's eyes on him, but Percy looked at the road, he didn't want the ghost to see how nervous he was. "What are you going to do? Once you come back to life I mean. Are you going with your father, or…?" He trailed off, hoping Nico would finish the rest.

"**After all this I don't really feel like being around my father. Besides, I hear there's a nice place at a camp built for me. I never really used it but maybe that should change."**

Percy let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and gave Nico one of his biggest smiles. "Thank the Gods. I was hoping you would say that, because I really wasn't looking forward to eating pomegranate seeds and having to spend a bunch of months in the Underworld."

Nico smirked back at him. He definitely looked more solid and less ghost like, but there was still something off about him.

"**Who says I won't make you eat them? I think that's a good idea, I could have you all to myself."**

"I don't think that's a good idea, I would lose my tan."

"**I could show you around and we could annoy my father together."**

"He would probably make me a permanent addition to the Underworld if I did that. In the dead way."

"**I'll let you sit on my lap while I'm sitting on my throne."**

"You don't have a throne."

Percy caught the look Nico was giving him out of the corner of his eye, "seriously? You have a throne?"

"**If you behave I'll let you polish it."**

"Whatever, asshole."

It was a bit over a four hour drive to get to the ferry that would bring them over to Italy. Percy was already regretting his decision to come back and get the car. It would have been better to take the boat over instead of all the driving.

But the car had other supplies in it, like ambrosia and things like maps that Percy needed. So they were stuck in the car again.

Percy usually liked driving, but the amount of time they had spent in it was starting to give him a twitch. He was almost yearning for the days when he and his friends ran around on foot, or when they used the Argo II. All the sitting around was not good for the energetic Demi-God.

Nico didn't seem to mind at all though. He was usually silent for their drives while he looked out the window at the passing landscapes.

Well except for the few times Percy almost fell asleep at the wheel and drove them off the road, he was always vocal then.

"**What are **_**you **_**going to do when this is all over?"**

Percy shrugged, "I'm not sure. I probably go back to camp for a while, but I'm getting tired in my old age so it might be time for me to settle down."

Nico scoffed at him.

"**You really are straight. This is disappointing."**

"Hey, I can settle down with a guy as much as I would a girl, ya know." He smiled at his next thought, "besides, I think you'd look cute wearing an apron and cooking me breakfast."

That got Nico to look at him.

"**I think you misunderstand your role in our relationship, Perseus."**

Percy stole a quick glance at him, "I'm sure as hell not wearing an apron."

It was worth it to see the look on Nico's face, only the Ghost King could pull off such a magnificent eye roll.

They both went quiet for a few moments until Nico spoke again.

"**Would you consider it?"**

"Huh?" Percy wished he could look at him; it was hard to have a conversation while driving, especially when you liked to make eye contact with the people you're talking to.

"**When I'm alive again, and we both go back to camp… would you consider… being in a relationship, with me?"**

"Mr. di Angelo, are you asking me to be your boyfriend?" Percy said with a smile when Nico scowled at him. "And I thought we already were in one? Unless it's different for guys…but I'm pretty sure after two dates and a lot of making out, it's got to count for something."

"**But that's…here. Are you going to be like that when we go back to camp? I don't want to push you into a relationship if we're going to have to hide it."**

"Nico," Percy tried not to sound too exasperated. "If I wasn't ready to admit that I had feelings for you in front of the whole camp, I would never have started anything with you in the first place."

Nico didn't look convinced.

"Look," Percy sighed. "I'm pretty sure from what Jason has told me that everyone already knows that I… I… missed you… No one will be surprised by the two of us, I promise. Even Chiron rolled his eyes at me when I told him about the quest."

"**But-"**

"So don't stress out. I want to be with you, and I'm not going to hide what's between us when we get back to camp. If I did that I wouldn't be able to parade my incredibly hot boyfriend around for everyone to see." Percy looked at Nico again to give him a reassuring smile, and was surprised to see Nico's eyes wide open in shock.

"_Is he really that scared that I'm going to try and hide us?"_

But he already knew the answer to that question.

Nico always looked for an excuse to see the worst in himself.

"**I can't wait to see the look on Jason's face then."**

Nico had the smirk back, and Percy couldn't help but let out a laugh.

"Oh please, he's probably got a stash of t-shirts in his closet that says 'team Percy/Nico, right beside the wedding invitations that he made for us."

This time it was Nico who laughed.

"**That's a disturbing thought."**

"Yeah and the worst part about it is that it's probably true." Percy could almost see Jason's face when he found out.

He would never hear the end of it.

* * *

Thankfully Percy had lots of time to sleep on the ferry that took them to Italy.

Not that he got much sleep.

He mostly tossed and turned his nightmares so horrible he woke up in a cold sweat several times. He could never remember what they were about, which was weird for one of his dreams, but he knew it had something to do with the last piece of soul.

There was something not quite right, and he couldn't stop the feeling in his chest that something horrible was going to happen.

Nico laid beside him while he tried to sleep, waking him up whenever Percy whimpered or started to fuss.

But eventually he just gave up and stayed awake for the rest of the trip, not trusting his mind to leave him alone.

When they finally made it to Italy it was back in the car again for another couple of hours. The joking atmosphere was gone now as they continued to drive toward the bright light in the distance.

Nico was just as tense as him.

"Do you sense it too, Neeks?" Percy asked him as the ghost continued to glare out the window.

"**Something's not right. I don't want to say it's been too easy, but it's strange. We haven't even been attacked by any monsters since Athens."**

Percy nodded in agreement. That was good then, he wasn't losing his mind. Nico felt the same way he did.

"I'll use that other ability of mine this time. I really don't want to prolong the battle any more than I have to." Percy hated the idea of having to drain the water out of someone's body again, but if it meant that it would be over sooner, he was willing to do it.

"**I'm sorry for all this, Perseus."**

Percy shook his head, "Its fine, Neeks, even if you haven't told me the real reason why you were down in Tartarus again. I understand it's probably something you're not proud of; most likely something your father asked you to do." He let out a nervous laugh, hoping Nico wouldn't get pissed by the unsubtle push he just gave him.

"**It was something for my father."**

Nico paused, probably debating whether or not to continue.

"**I was doing my final test, to prove I was worthy of Godhood."**

Percy tried not to look too surprised. "What the hell was the final test something like making yourself forget? That's kind of harsh."

"**Being a God is harsh in itself. My father was testing my ability to let go of my emotions. There's a certain object at the end of the river Lethe, and if you touch it, it will make you forget the thing you love most. That was my final test…and I failed…"**

"The thing you love most?" Percy asked. "Mythomagic maybe?"

Nico gave him a look and Percy felt his heart sink.

"**You really don't know what it was?"**

Percy went silent, looking ahead at the road.

"**Perseus?"**

"I thought Hades said that you didn't have feelings for me anymore." Percy said suddenly. "That's what he said when he came to me that night. Why would he lie?"

"**He knew about it, why do you think he sent me on a quest like that when he could have told me to go slay a dragon or something?"**

"Yeah, well, your dad's a dick."

Nico didn't make any objections to that statement, both men still too pissed about everything to talk.

Percy continued to follow the light to wherever this monster was hiding, and as they got closer the feeling of wrongness continued to increase.

The sun was still high in the sky and people of course were out doing their daily business, but something seemed off about them.

"**Perseus, stop the car for a second."**

Percy pulled over to the side and cut the engine.

There was definitely something wrong.

It was like all of Italy was frozen in time.

People were stopped in mid motion, even birds were hanging in the air, and cars were still waiting at red lights or paused in the middle of the road.

And here Percy had though that the people in Italy just parked weirdly.

"Where are we?"

"**We just entered Rome a while back, that's when I noticed everyone stopped."**

Percy got out of the car and went to get his stuff out of the back.

Nico turned around in his seat to look at him.

"**What are you doing?"**

"I'm not going to run people over if they're standing in the middle of the road," he replied with a laugh. "It's better to go on foot from here." He slung his bag over his shoulder and picked up Nico's sword.

"Besides," he looked up at the light that was almost blinding now. "I think we're close."

He had Nico lead the way through the streets since he knew the place better than him.

It was silent as death in Rome. There was no sound and not even a breeze blowing through. The blade at Percy's hip pulsed lightly, like it could sense the last part of the soul nearby.

Nico was just as silent as the streets around them, his body tensed as he walked in front of Percy. He couldn't blame the Ghost King for being so on edge; whatever was happening in Rome was unnatural.

But it got worse as they got closer to the light.

People changed from wearing normal everyday clothes to ancient Roman wear. The streets turned from pavement to dirt and the cars turned into horses.

Roman soldiers in armor replaced cops and while it was amazing to see, Percy couldn't help but feel even more nervous at the change.

"**I don't believe it."**

Percy almost bumped into the ghost, but he managed to stop himself. "What…" But he didn't have to finish the sentence as he looked up at the huge building looming in the distance.

It was the coliseum, completely restored and a brilliant white against the rest of the city thanks to the bright light overhead of it.

Percy closed his mouth when he realized it had been open. "Is that where-"

"**Yes."**

They quickened their pace, trying to reach the oval shaped arena faster. The gates were opened when they got there and they slowly stepped inside.

It was like nothing had ever happened to it. There were no missing sides, no damage to it whatsoever. And as they came to the arena, they quickly saw that the floor was repaired as well, covered in a fine white sand, untouched by anything.

Percy uncapped Riptide as they went down to the arena. There were no monsters in sight, but he wasn't about to push his luck.

Nico was right behind him as he stepped out into the sand. His feet sunk into it, but it was still easy to keep his balance.

"Welcome, Percy Jackson, to the coliseum of Rome."

They both looked above them to the Imperial box, neither of them surprised to see Hades seated there.

"**Father!"**

"Ah Nico, you seemed to be looking better."

Nico narrowed his eyes at the God.

"**No thanks to you."**

Hades waved dismissively at him. "Yes, yes, it's my fault, I know. But you left me no choice, I needed you to prove to me you were over your little crush. This was the only way to do that."

Percy wasn't sure what was happening, but by the sound of the growl Nico let out, it wasn't good.

"**So you let me die to learn a lesson? I'm sorry to tell you your efforts were in vain, in fact, they've pushed me further away from you."**

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," Hades leaned over the rail and peered down at them. "You came here, did you not? I'm still going to get my way, even if it did take longer than expected."

"**What are you talking about?"**

Hades shook his head, a look of disappointment on his face. "Come now, Nico. Haven't you figured it out yet? I had dear Percy here go through all the trouble of fighting monsters that had something to do with all the human emotions felt with grief. Can you tell me the last one?"

When Nico said nothing Percy decided to answer.

"Acceptance?'

Hades gave him a wide smile. "Exactly, now what kind of monster could I summon to represent acceptance? I'll give you a hint; he's standing right in front of you, Nico."

Percy spun around, looking everywhere for the monster that Hades had sent.

But there was nothing there.

He looked at Nico and tried not to freak out when the Ghost King gave him a panicked look.

"**Perseus…"**

"Indeed!" Hades clapped his hands together, "I think my planning is rather brilliant myself. You are the monster, Percy Jackson. I think it fits together perfectly, since you're the reason Nico had to die in the first place."

Percy felt his heart break at those words.

The bad feeling he had was now proven correct, he had played right into Hades trap.

"Of course," Hades said loudly to get their attention. "I could never kill you myself, then I would have my brother's wrath to face, but there are ways around it."

Percy spun around and gave the God of the Underworld his nastiest look. "You're stupid if you think I'm going to kill myself."

"Who said anything about you killing yourself," Hades laughed and snapped his fingers. "Well I suppose this could be counted as killing yourself."

Something formed out of the shadows; it looked almost like Nico whenever he went to shadow travel. But as he and Nico watched, it turned into something worse. Its features shaped until it resembled Percy himself, it looked identical except for its lifeless black eyes.

Nico cursed and Percy turned around to see the Ghost King chained to the sand by his feet, unable to move.

"Here's how it's going to go," Hades said. "Either evil Percy is going to kill Nico, or he's going to kill you. And before you tell me that Nico can't be killed because he's a ghost…"

The other Percy uncapped a sword that looked like Riptide, but it was glowing with a blue light.

"My word of advice to you would be don't chance it."

Percy must have looked scared because Nico smiled at him reassuringly.

"**This is the last one, are you ready, Perseus?"**

Percy said nothing as he turned back and watched the other him get into a fighting stance. He knew how this would play out, he had seen it before in his dreams, and he wasn't going to let it happen like that again.

"Let the game… BEGIN!"

The stadium filled with cheering fans at Hades command and the God sat down in his seat and signaled for the battle to start.

The other Percy fixed his opponent with a blank stare.

Percy knew how fast he could move, he just hoped he would be able to keep up with him. He untied Nico's sword from his belt and held it in front of him. Even though the blade was unbalanced, he knew it would be better than nothing.

The other Percy ran at him, quicker than Percy though possible, and tried to dodge around him.

Percy stopped him before he could get anywhere near Nico, swinging both his swords at the shadow, barely able to keep up with its speed.

The crowd cheered as Percy pushed him back. His arms were already stinging from the blows.

This shadowed version of himself was much stronger than him; he wasn't sure how much time he could buy. _"I need to think of a plan, and now."_

The shadow rushed him again, his attention gone from Nico.

Percy grit his teeth as he was pushed back, their sword were clanging together so loudly Percy's ears were ringing. He was surprised both his blades were holding up to the abuse.

A roar behind him was the only warning he got and he rolled to the side just as a lion pounced on the spot he had just been in.

The crowd cheered even louder and Percy looked down at his now bleeding arm where the lion's claws had nicked him.

He ignored it and went on the attack.

If there was anything he was good at besides swimming, it was sword fighting.

It was harder than he thought to use two blades, but he quickly got the hang of it. The shadow was the one having a hard time keeping up this time and Percy continued to attack with full force.

"_All I need is to cut him with Nico's sword. That should kill him and finish this."_

He wished for once he could use his power and draw out his opponent's water, but it was impossible since he was only a shadow.

He cried out in frustration as the shadow leapt away from him a great distance away. He didn't even think why it would retreat until his foot fell into a trap and he was pulled right off his feet onto his back by a rope.

This gave the other Percy now had the opening he needed and he ran at Nico, ready to finish him off.

Percy didn't give him a chance to though as he stood up and cut the rope off his foot with Riptide before throwing it as hard as he could at his shadow's retreating back.

It dodged of course but it gave Percy the chance he needed to get back on his feet and stand close by Nico, guarding him once again.

The crowd was going mad at this point but Percy blocked them out.

"**Perseus, just let him-"**

"Shut up! Don't even finish that sentence, Nico!"

The shadow Percy circled around, and Percy knew what was coming next, he had seen it too many times in his nightmares.

The shadow ran toward them, and much like in his dreams, it felt like time was moving in slow motion.

But Percy was not going to let the battle end with Nico's death.

He threw himself in front of the blow, cringing when the shadow's blade sunk deep into his chest.

He didn't let the opportunity pass. With the enemy's sword currently occupied, Percy stabbed Nico's sword right under his shadow's chin and into his head.

The shadow hissed angrily before solidifying into stone and bursting into a cloud of gold dust. The dust gathered around the sword and it glowed bright once more before Percy dropped it onto the white sand that was quickly turning red with his blood.

The shadow's sword had disappeared along with it, leaving the hole in Percy chest to bleed freely.

Too tired to stand anymore, Percy fell to the ground.

"Perseus!"

Percy grinned and closed his eyes. _"Nico's probably going to be pissed at me. I should be happy I'm dying, he would probably have killed me anyway."_

He coughed up a mouthful of blood. His lungs were full of it, and he realized with a sickening thought that he couldn't breathe.

"_And here I am, drowning once again. The Gods didn't waste irony on me at least."_

He opened his eyes coming face to face with Nico who hovered above him.

"_I wish I could have told you I love you. Men always suck when it comes to their feeling, so that's my fault I guess."_

Nico was grabbing onto his face, trying to keep him awake.

Percy couldn't even hear what he was saying anymore.

"_Well here goes nothing."_

Nico leaned closer to him, almost like he was about to kiss him again.

"_I love you."_

And Percy closed his eyes.


	10. Healing

So... here's the rest of chatper 9 that I totally forgot to post.

* * *

Death wasn't exactly what he expected it would be.

He was looking forward to eternal damnation in Tartarus. It wasn't that he didn't think he deserved paradise, he just knew Hades would never give it to him.

It was dark where he was now, almost like he had his eyes closed underwater.

And there was also that painful stinging on the side of his face

_Slap._

Yeah, kind of like someone was slapping him.

_Slap. Slap._

And it was starting to get annoying.

"_Perseus, wake up."_

"I'm dead, I'm pretty sure I can't wake up."

_Slap._

"_Get over yourself, stop being so dramatic."_

Percy blinked his eyes open, the brightness of the sun above him making him squint. "Wha….?"

Nico was still leaning over him, that same familiar smirk on his face.

"Didn't I die?" He asked Nico.

"I'm the ghost King you fucking idiot. And I've gained some new abilities too since you last saw me."

Percy reached his hand up and patted the spot on his chest where he had been run through. It was sore but he wasn't bleeding anymore. He sat up and coughed, trying to get the last bit of blood out of his lungs.

"I learned how to heal bone and flesh, as well as control it." Nico said happily.

"Nifty." Percy said, poking his chest again.

A loud sigh above them made them both look up.

Hades was leaning over the railing again, he looked pissed. "I assume this is your answer then? You're going to choose love over Godhood."

Nico narrowed his eyes at his father, "Of course. I chose love in Tartarus and I'll choose it again and again, Father." And with that said he pulled Percy in for a kiss.

Percy blushed and flailed. He didn't mind kissing Nico in front of his friends, but kissing in front of Hades was different.

Nico smirked against his lips before pulling away, "Significhi tutto per me."

Hades looked from his son and back over to Percy who was redder than before.

If that was even possible.

"Fine! Fine…" Hade threw his hands up in the air. "You can keep your little Sea Prince for all I care; I still expect you to come and report to me every now and then. You will eventually have to take Godhood, whether you want to or not, and I'd imagine that my brother expects the same of Percy."

"I'm not becoming a God," Percy said quickly. "You guys are all insane."

Hades glared at him and Percy shut his mouth.

"I'm leaving now, all this talk about feelings has made me irritable." The God of the Underworld snapped his fingers and disappeared in a cloud of black smoke.

"Don't forget to give Persephone a kiss for me!" Nico called after him.

"Really?" Percy said blankly.

Nico shrugged, "he hates it when I point out the fact that he has lovey dovey feelings for her."

Percy shook his head, unable to picture Hades anything of the sort. "So…. You're alive now."

"Yeah," Nico took a deep breath. "It feels nice."

"Even if the sun is shining on you? Doesn't it burn your skin?"

"I'm a Ghost King, Perseus, not a vampire."

Percy laughed and tried to stand up, but Nico pulled him down until he was resting his head on his lap.

"So I'm alive."

"Yes? I think we clarified that."

Nico smiled and leaned down to kiss him quickly before pulling away. "I was just thinking about how I would like to fuck you on the sands of the arena. I think it's quite romantic here."

Percy sputtered and sat up, "you're such a fucking pervert." And he yelped as Nico grabbed onto him and pulled him into a bone crushing hug.

"Perseus."

Percy continued to flail as Nico kissed the back of his neck before moving up to nibble on his ear. "Ti amo, Perseus."

"You better not be calling me fat again," Percy said, finally giving up and allowing Nico to do what he wanted to him.

But Nico just continued to kiss any part of him he could reach, and Percy sighed contently and relaxed in the taller man's arms.

"So when do you want to go back to camp?" He asked the Ghost King, who was making quite an effort to leave a mark on his neck.

"It depends," Nico said. "Are you going to show me that dance you were talking about?"

"Pervert." Percy reached up and yanked on some of Nico's dark hair. "You would like that, wouldn't you?"

Nico chuckled, "I would like that very much."

* * *

So one more chapter left. Are you all sad? I know I am.


End file.
